Summer in Termuren (ARC)
by Louis Paul Boon, Paul Vincent (trans) | Literature & Fiction | This book has not been rated.
ISBN: 1564784142 Global Overview for this book
ISBN: 1564784142 Global Overview for this book
1 journaler for this copy...
Advanced Reader CopyFrom the publisher's website:
This, the author writes, is “the novel of the individual in a world of barbarians.” It is the story of Ondine and Oscarke, a young married couple adrift in a Belgian landscape that is darkening under the spread of industry and World War I. Ondine, who “came to serve god and live,” finds that she must “serve the gentlemen” instead. Oscarke, an aspiring sculptor, finds himself unsuccessfully scouring Brussels for work and, when he is finally hired, too tired to make his own art. They grow old and their four children grow up as “technology and mechanization, unemployment, fascism, and war” take over around them. War destroys their attempts to establish a better life, which they seek continually and against all odds. And the chapters about these characters, some of whom first appeared in Chapel Road, alternate with chapters about Boon homself, who describes the impossibility of modern life and the destruction of war. As this wide-ranging novel progresses, the author’s struggles—both with writing and with his own life—come more and more to resemble those of his characters.
Nominated for the Nobel Prize on several occasions, Louis Paul Boon’s (1912-1979) oeuvre spans several genres, including compelling historical epics, sharp, witty newspaper columns, and tongue-in-cheek scabrous novels. Dalkey Archive Press recently published his novel Chapel Road and has plans to publish more of his books in the near future. Also, an article on Boon will appear in an upcoming issue of CONTEXT magazine. Widely considered the greatest Belgian novelist of the twentieth century, his work is often compared to that of Louis-Ferdinand Céline and John Dos Passos. He had lifelong interests in political and social causes, which he expressed in both his journalism and fiction.
I'm counting this book toward my big reading challenge for this year: the 5 Books, 5 Countries, 5 Continents challenge.
Sending this to chronicO tomorrow at the request of genielady.
