Items related to Childhood: Two Novellas
Synopsis
From the author of the hit The Evenings - two classic novellas that are considered among Gerard Reve's best work
Young Elmer longs to make friends and tries to control the world around him by forming secret clubs, of which he is always the president. When he invites Werther to become a member, a game of attraction and repulsion begins. What follows is a psychological masterpiece; Reve brilliantly conjures up a child's whole world, full of oppression and
enchantment.
During the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam, a boy watches as the family of one of his friends slowly loses everything and is then taken away. This is a deceptively simple story imbued with subtle horror.
These two classic novellas, from the giant of post-war Dutch literature Gerard Reve, have all of the uncanny atmosphere and the incisive, dark wit of The Evenings.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Gerard Reve (1923-2006) is considered one of the greatest post-war Dutch authors, and was also the first openly gay writer in the country's history. A complicated and controversial character, Reve is also hugely popular and critically acclaimed. The first English translation of his masterpiece The Evenings shipped more than 20,000 copies and was a three-time book of the year in 2016.
Review
"Profoundly unsettling . . . haunt[s] the mind for long afterwards." — The Sunday Times, A Book of the Year
"These two posthumously published novellas by the Dutch writer Gerard Reve, skilfully translated by Sam Garrett, show he was capable of enormous and often unsettling power." — Observer
"In a distinctive voice that captures childish incomprehension while still conveying what is missed by the still immature mind, the two works collected in Childhood are dark and even unpleasant, but both strong and impressive." — Complete Review
"Enthralling... tales of the joys and pains of life that linger in the mind." — Financial Times
"Expertly translated." — The National
"[H]umorous yet wrenching. . . Reve paints a devastating, terrifying portrait of a pivotal era. Together, these two novellas showcase the author’s excellent range." — Publishers Weekly
"Sam Garrett’s precise and convincing translations ... capture the consistently anxious, suggestive, and haunting tone that runs through The Evenings like a live wire—one that, after seventy years, is still electrifying. The narrators of The Fall of the Boslowits Family and Werther Nieland, too, are persuasively rendered in the matter-of-fact and dreamlike tones of the originals." — Philip Huff, New York Review of Books
"I certainly can’t find enough good things to say about Childhood... wonderfully evocative... Excellently translated by Sam Garrett, this is a gem of a book and highly recommended." — Shiny New Books
"An incredibly compelling depiction of wartime... beautiful cover design." — Pendora Magazine
One of first five Books to Look Out For in November — Life in Books (blog)
"In a distinctive voice that captures childish incomprehension while still conveying what is missed by the still immature mind, the two works collected in Childhood are dark and even unpleasant, but both strong and impressive." — Asymptote Journal
"Reve has a gift for contorting innocence into something sinister... beautifully artworked... an excellent Christmas present for the discerning literature lovers in your life." — Hits the Fan (blog)
Praise for The Evenings -
· "A masterpiece... What can I say that will put this book where it belongs, in readers' hands and minds?... Reve keeps the reader breathless right through to the grand finale - Tim Parks, Guardian
· "A masterwork of comic pathos... one of the finest studies of youthful malaise ever written... Should cause many readers to revise their opinions of The Catcher in the Rye. In all fairness to Salinger, The Evenings is so much better - Eileen Battersby, Irish Times
· "Like BS Johnson and Kafka wandering the crepuscular streets of 1940s Amsterdam together - in a good way" Alex Preston, Observer Books of the Year 2016
· "The funniest, most exhilarating novel about boredom ever written. If The Evenings had appeared in English in the 1950s, it would have become every bit as much a classic as On the Road and The Catcher in the Rye." Herman Koch, author of The Dinner
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- PublisherPushkin Press
- Publication date2019
- ISBN 10 1782274588
- ISBN 13 9781782274582
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages128
- Rating
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. Translation. From the author of the hit The Evenings - two classic novellas that are considered among Gerard Reve's best workYoung Elmer longs to make friends and tries to control the world around him by forming secret clubs, of which he is always the president. When he invites Werther to become a member, a game of attraction and repulsion begins. What follows is a psychological masterpiece; Reve brilliantly conjures up a child's whole world, full of oppression andenchantment.During the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam, a boy watches as the family of one of his friends slowly loses everything and is then taken away. This is a deceptively simple story imbued with subtle horror.These two classic novellas, from the giant of post-war Dutch literature Gerard Reve, have all of the uncanny atmosphere and the incisive, dark wit of The Evenings. Seller Inventory # SONG1782274588
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Childhood: Two Novellas
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Pushkin Press, United Kingdom, London, 2018
ISBN 10: 1782274588
ISBN 13: 9781782274582
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Paperback. Condition: Very Good. There will be a club. Important messages have been sent already. If anybody wants to ruin it, he will be punished. Eleven-year-old Elmer inhabits a childhood of superstition, private lore and secret societies that only certain friends can join (and of which he is always president). When a new boy, pale, spindly Werther, arrives in the neighbourhood, a subtle game of fascination and persecution begins. In wartime Amsterdam, a young boy watches as Germans occupy the city. At first his parents' friends, the Boslowits family, think they have little to fear. Then, slowly, terribly, their fate is sealed. In these two haunting novellas from the acclaimed author of The Evenings, the world of childhood, in all its magic and strangeness, darkness and cruelty, is evoked with piercing wit and dreamlike intensity. Here, the things seen through a child's eyes are far from innocent. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR009577812
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