27 Beats Per Minute (Paperback)

Henk Proepper

ISBN 10: 1035426846 / ISBN 13: 9781035426843

Published by Headline Publishing Group, 2025

About this Item

Paperback. 'A very special book that I enjoyed enormously' Cees NooteboomA dazzling ode to life, literature and Paris, the French capital that even in emptiness and desolation will always be magnificent.Soon after Henk Propper moves from Amsterdam to Paris, both the world and his heart almost come to a full stop. He undergoes major surgery and awakes in an empty city in lockdown. Paris is transformed into an abandoned stage. To quicken his recovery, Propper begins walking. He combs his immediate surroundings, he hunts for the past, discovering countless commemorative plaques and monuments that honour well- and lesser-known Parisians and keep their histories alive. Propper also reflects on his own life and the literature that has shaped him. In this way, he walks in the footsteps of literary heroes such as Victor Hugo, of Balzac and of Camus.'One of the most moving and most invigorating autobiographies ever written. This is a finely polished gem worthy of admiration' Knack'A concise masterpiece that summarises a life in the time of the pandemic in the personal, euphoric and precarious shades of one year. Without one's realising, it covers just about everything: thoughts, emotions, literature, films, loves, feelings, memories, annoyances and doubts' Vrij Nederland'Philosophical, reflective, and with the pleasantly slow heartbeat of a writer who carries the reader through the city, European literature and history' het ParoolTranslated by Emma Rault.Epilogue translated by Sherry Macdonald. A dazzling ode to life, literature and Paris, a city that even during the emptiness and desolation of the pandemic will always be magnificent. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781035426843

Bibliographic Details

• Title: 27 Beats Per Minute (Paperback)
• Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1035426846
• ISBN 13: 9781035426843
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

'A very special book that I enjoyed enormously' Cees Nooteboom

A dazzling ode to life, literature and Paris, the French capital that even in emptiness and desolation will always be magnificent.

Soon after Henk Pröpper moves from Amsterdam to Paris, both the world and his heart almost come to a full stop. He undergoes major surgery and awakes in an empty city in lockdown. Paris is transformed into an abandoned stage. To quicken his recovery, Pröpper begins walking. He combs his immediate surroundings, he hunts for the past, discovering countless commemorative plaques and monuments that honour well- and lesser-known Parisians and keep their histories alive. Pröpper also reflects on his own life and the literature that has shaped him. In this way, he walks in the footsteps of literary heroes such as Victor Hugo, of Balzac and of Camus.

'One of the most moving and most invigorating autobiographies ever written. This is a finely polished gem worthy of admiration' Knack

'A concise masterpiece that summarises a life in the time of the pandemic in the personal, euphoric and precarious shades of one year. Without one's realising, it covers just about everything: thoughts, emotions, literature, films, loves, feelings, memories, annoyances and doubts' Vrij Nederland

'Philosophical, reflective, and with the pleasantly slow heartbeat of a writer who carries the reader through the city, European literature and history' het Parool

Translated by Emma Rault.
Epilogue translated by Sherry Macdonald.

About the Author

HENK PRÖPPER has for forty years written about the literature and culture of France, the country where he was a diplomat and director in Paris of the Institut Néerlandais. He was director of the Dutch Foundation for Literature before becoming a distinguished Dutch publisher. Pröpper writes for de Volkskrant, mainly about French subjects.