"Twee maal leven" van Clem Schouwenaars

"Alleen de grootste dwazen voelen zich gelukkig."

Manu Ressel leidt twee levens. In het gezelschap van zijn beroemde broer, de schrijver Ossian, begeeft hij zich voortdurend onder de belangrijke en interessante mensen. Maar dit leven is slechts een droom. De realiteit -dat andere leven- is dat hij overdag een onbetekenend baantje heeft op een kantoor - hij is slechts één van de duizenden werknemers van een fabriek. De mensen met wie hij daar omgaat zijn, 'saai', 'dom' en 'onder zijn niveau'. Manu is van mening dat hij meer verdient dan dat - dat er grootse dingen voor hem in het verschiet liggen. Hij rebelleert tegen zijn oversten en verlaat uiteindelijk de fabriek. Nu is het aan hem om aan te tonen dat hij inderdaad zijn droom kan verwezenlijken.

"Twee maal leven" vertelt een op het eerste zicht banaal verhaaltje over een kantoorbediende die zijn job beu is. Maar het verhaal gaat dieper dan dat. Het gaat over realiteit en dromen en over de grote kloof tussen beide. Over de drang om meer te zijn dan wie je bent en over het leren accepteren van je grenzen. En dat laatste betekent vaak een enorme desillusie. Clem Schouwenaars heeft me nog nooit teleurgesteld en ook "Twee maal leven" heb ik weer graag gelezen.

Auteur: Clem Schouwenaars
Titel: Twee maal leven
Uitgeverij: Hadewijch, Antwerpen/Baarn
Jaar: 1989 (oorspr. 1968)
Aantal pagina's: 145 blz.
ISBN: 9052400342

"The Mayor of Casterbridge" by Thomas Hardy

“Life is an oasis which is submerged in the swirling waves of sorrows and agonies.”

 

Young Michael Henchard, a poor hay-trusser, arrives at a country fair with his wife Susan and baby daughter Elisabeth-Jane. In a drunken stupor, he sells his wife and daughter to a sailor, Mr Newson, who takes both to Canada. Some twenty years later, after the drowning of Newson, Susan and her daughter arrive in the town of Casterbridge. There, they find Henchard, who has risen on the social ladder and has become mayor of the town. Henchard, still feeling guilty about what he did all those years ago, vows to make amends and remarries Susan. But his past will come back to haunt him, again and again. As he refuses to learn from the mistakes of the past, Henchard's downfall is inevitable.

"The Mayor of Casterbridge" may not be quite as powerful as Hardy's "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" but it's still a classic which deserves to be read. It has a strong plot (although a bit too reliant on coincidences - not unusual for the author) and I really like the symbolism Hardy uses. The characters -the titular character in particular- are complex and interesting. Hardy's prose is beautiful and not too difficult, but you'll have to be able to stomach quite a bit of pessimism. I happen to like a fair share of gloom in my literature, so Hardy is definitely among my favourite 19th century authors. "The Mayor of Casterbridge" didn't disappoint.

Author: Thomas Hardy
Title: The Mayor of Casterbridge
Publisher: OUP, Oxford
Year: 2008 (orig. 1886)
Number of pages: lxi + 364 p.
ISBN: 9780199537037

"Dissolution" by C.J. Sansom

“You untangle a knot with slow teasing, not sharp pulling, and believe me we have here a knot such as I have never seen. But I will unpick it. I will.”

'Dissolution', the title of C.J. Sansom's debut novel, refers to the suppression of the monasteries, a process by which King Henry VIII tried to close down all Catholic monasteries in England. This process was masterminded by the king's chief minister Thomas Cromwell, and this event provides the background for the novel.

Royal Commissioner Robin Singleton was sent to the Scarnsea monastery to investigate reports of illegal land sales, but was brutally murdered during the investigation. Now Cromwell has sent hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake to solve the murder, and at the same time continue Singelton's investigation. Soon, Shardlake discovers that he has arrived in a lair of avarice, corruption and decadence. Many of the monks are hiding something, and it becomes clear that there are a lot of suspects. More deaths follow, and as Shardlake is closing in on the truth, both he and his assistant Mark must also fear for their lives.

A murder in a monastery: it doesn't exactly sound original. And indeed, it is very probable that Sansom was inspired by Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose", though the story takes place a couple of centuries later. It is a very different novel, though. It's a much lighter read (not lighthearted, mind you), but like Eco's novel, it works both as a historical novel and as a murder mystery. The characters are excellently drawn. Matthew Shardlake proves to be an interesting and complex character that is   ideal to carry a series. The actions and motivations of all the characters are convincing. Cromwell, although he only appears very briefly, is a powerful and menacing figure. Apart from a clichéd scene in a clock tower, the ending and the solution to the murders is quite satisfying. An excellent start to a series which I will definitely read more books from.

Author: C.J. Sansom
Title: Dissolution
Publisher: Pan, London
Year: 2015 (orig. 2003)
Number of pages: 463 p.
ISBN: 9781447285830

"The Road to Little Dribbling" by Bill Bryson

“The rooms were small and airless and cramped. To make matters worse, somebody in our group was making the most dreadful silent farts. Fortunately, it was me, so I wasn’t nearly as bothered as the others.”

When you feel like having a good laugh, reading a book by Bill Bryson is always a safe bet. I've read all of his travel books, and I've smiled, grinned, giggled, laughed out loud and literally rolled on the floor laughing, unaware of the people around me, who were probably wondering what was wrong with me. Luckily, that was usually only my wife, who should know me by now. 

Anyway, one of those books was "Notes From a Small Island", an account of his first visit to Britain, a classic in humourous travel literature. Now, twenty years after that book, Bryson is back with another book about Great Britain, a country he has lived in for most of his life. So he travels around Britain again, with his keen sense of observation and his critical mind as his sole companions.


As always, the book is full of anecdotes and self-mockery, and Bryson has lots of interesting ànd funny things to say about the oddest subjects. Really, he is able to make it fascinating to read about things like the British road numbering system, spelling mistakes, or even the hairs growing out of his nose and ears. He stares in wonder at the glorious countryside, or the beautiful villages and towns he visits, but he comes down hard on stupid and rude people and he's devasted by the disappearance of so many wonderful things he encountered when he first travelled the country. He may have got a bit grumpier in his old age, but that only adds to the fun. Bryson evidently still loves Britain, but during his travels, it becomes clear that he feels the country is going downhill in many respects. His conclusion speaks for itself:

“It occurred to me, not for the first time, that if Britain is ever to sort itself out, it is going to require a lot of euthanasia.”

It isn't really necessary to read "Notes from a Small Island" first, but you might as well do just that, because it's absolutely brilliant. "The Road to Little Dribbling" may not be quite on the same level as the aforementioned "Notes..." or "Neither Here Nor There", but it's still that safe bet you were looking for.

Author: Bill Bryson
Title: The Road to Little Dribbling
Publisher: Black Swan, London
Year: 2015
Number of pages: 477 p.
ISBN: 9780552779838

"The Searchers" by Alan LeMay

"Martin found the body of Henry Edwards draped on its back across the broad sill of a bedroom window. The Comanche knives had done eery work upon this body. Like Martha, Henry and both boys had been scalped."

I used to read a lot of westerns when I was a teenager. You know: Max Brand, Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour (and Karl May, of course, who was my favourite). But I grew out of them. I still read historical novels about the west, but not the traditional westerns. Still, I was tempted to read 'The Searchers', Alan LeMay's novel upon which the famous John Wayne movie was based - widely regarded as one of the very best western films of all times.  It turns out 'The Searchers' is not a traditional western at all - at least not the shoot-'em-up type of story that most people think of when imagining 'western'.

Texas in the 1860s. The Comanches are raiding white settlements, prompting many to leave. Henry Edwards and his family have decided to stay, but it was only a matter of time before the Comanches attack their place as well.

When Henry's brother Amos and the Edwards' adopted son Martin arrive at the house, they find most of the family slaughtered. The two daughters are missing. 17-year old Lucy is found a bit later, brutally raped and murdered; the youngest, Debbie, was taken by the Indians. Amos and Martin set out to rescue her. The search lasts for years and Amos and Martin not only have to fight Indians, but also storms, robbers and other misadventures. The final confrontation is shocking (and quite different from the movie verson).

The book was probably inspired by the real-life story of Cynthia Ann Parker, who was kidnapped by Comanches in a similar fashion in the 1830s. It might be difficult to market a story like this these days, with the one-sided, negative view of Native Americans. But as the events are completely told from the point of view of the whites, it makes sense. This is not about who was right or wrong - this is about dealing with feelings of guilt, hatred and revenge. It is a bleak reading experience. But it's exactly this dark atmosphere which makes it a very good novel.

Author: Alan LeMay
Title: The Searchers
Publisher: Pinnacle Books, New York
Year: 2013 (orig. 1954)
Number of pages: xl + 308 p.
ISBN: 9780786031429

"Tot de dood ons scheidt..." van Jo Claes

"Hij klonk grimmig. Als een jager die eindelijk het wild in zijn vizier had gekregen en bloed rook."

Wanneer de bejaarde Louise Haelterman aan een hartaanval overlijdt, lijkt niets te wijzen op een misdaad, zelfs als dat niet lang komt na het dodelijk ongeval van haar gezelschapsdame Tilly Winters. Maar wanneer even later een universiteitsprofessor in verdachte omstandigheden om het leven komt en enkele dagen later een van zijn studenten vermoord wordt teruggevonden, gaat er een alarmbelletje af bij hoofdinspecteur Thomas Berg, zeker als blijkt dat de vier overlijdens gelinkt kunnen worden aan het tragische verhaal van Joris Dehaene. Dehaene was een jonge dichter, die tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog leider was van een verzetsbeweging en door de Gestapo werd geëxecuteerd. Wie heeft hem destijds verraden en waarom is dit nu nog relevant? In Leuven loopt iemand rond die kost wat kost wil voorkomen dat de ware geschiedenis aan het licht komt.

"Tot de dood ons scheidt..." verschilt enigszins van de vorige boeken rond Thomas Berg, in die zin dat Berg zelf hier een wat kleinere rol speelt. Het zijn vooral Chloë Winters, dochter van Tilly, en Dries Haelterman, achterneef van Louise, die de rol van speurder op zich nemen en stap voor stap Berg helpen om de dader te ontmaskeren. Zoals steeds schotelt Claes ons, naast het intrigerende mysterie, weer een hele hoop interessante informatie voor over archeologie, geschiedenis, kunst, mythologie, en in dit verhaal ook fotografie. Ditmaal zijn kunst en symboliek zelfs bijzonder belangrijk in de ontrafeling van het mysterie, wanneer Berg, Winters en Haelterman allerhande sporen volgen die Louise heeft achtergelaten, en waarvoor ze een Dan Brown-achtige speurtocht beginnen. Claes geeft ook even een knipoog naar Agatha Christie, in een scène waarin de verdachten allen worden samengeroepen en Berg de misdaad en de motieven uit de doeken doet.

Spannend, intrigerend en bij momenten humoristisch (de scène waarin Berg tegen wil en dank op date gaat is bijzonder grappig). Dit is een van de betere Thomas Berg-romans - en de andere zijn ook al niet mis.


Auteur: Jo Claes
Titel: Tot de dood ons scheidt...
Uitgeverij: Houtekiet, Antwerpen/Utrecht
Jaar: 2012
Aantal bladzijden: 476 blz.
ISBN: 9789089242112

"Stamboul Train" by Graham Greene

“When there was a choice between love of a woman and hate of a man, her mind could cherish only one emotion, for her love might be a subject for laughter, but no one ever had ever mocked her hatred.”

In "Stamboul Train" we follow a couple of very different individuals on board the Orient Express, on their voyage from Ostend to Istanbul. There's Coral Musker, a very young and naïve dancer who is on her way to Istanbul to be a show girl. Carleton Myatt is a Jewish entrepeneur, who is concered that his partner in Turkey is double-crossing him. The lesbian reporter Mabel Warren is travelling with her companion Janet Pardoe. Then there's the teacher Richard John, who is in fact the exiled Serbian communist leader dr. Richard Czinner, and he's on his way to his country to lead a revolt. There's Q.C. Savory, a pompous writer, who provides most of the comic relief, and finally, there's the master thief Josef Grünlich, who is on the run after he murdered someone in a burglary-gone-wrong.

The lives of these characters intertwine as Coral falls in love with Myatt. When she falls ill, she meets dr. Czinner. Meanwhile, Mabel Warren has discovered dr. Czinner's identity, and wants to seal her reputation as a journalist by getting an exclusive interview with him - whatever it takes. The other characters also get involved in this complex web of interactions.

This is a very early Greene novel and it was his breakthrough when it was first released in 1932. Greene separated his novels in serious novels and 'entertainments' (nowadays, we would call them thrillers) and he didn't hide the fact that he wrote the latter mainly for the money. But whatever group his novels are categorised in, Greene always focused on characters. There's an interesting storyline running through the book (actually, there are several), but it's mainly the characters and the way they interact that make this a compelling novel.

The last part of the novel mainly focuses on Myatt's business venture. Frankly, this happens to be the least engaging of the threads in the book, so it's a bit of an anti-climax. This is not Greene's best novel, but it does have flashes of the brilliance we would see in later novels.


Author: Graham Greene
Title: Stamboul Train
Publisher: Vintage, London
Year: 2004 (orig. 1932)
Number of pages: xiii + 197 p.
ISBN: 9780099478362