In the Dutch Mountains
In the Dutch Mountains by Cees Nooteboom, published by Harvill in 1995, is a work of fiction that weaves a narrative rich in imagination and complexity. This edition, consisting of 119 pages, presents a story narrated by a Spanish government official who aspires to be a writer. The tale features a pair of circus performers, Kai and Lucia, who navigate a supernatural world filled with unexpected characters and situations, exploring themes of beauty, destiny, and the metaphysical.
Readers will encounter a blend of fairy tale elements and modern existential inquiries as the narrative unfolds. The story delves into the lives of the illusionists, who face trials that challenge their happiness and beauty. Nooteboom’s exploration of metaphysical and aesthetic themes invites readers to reflect on the nature of reality and the allure of storytelling. This edition offers a unique perspective on the intertwining of fantasy and the human experience, making it a thought-provoking read for those interested in experimental fiction.
Official synopsis Publisher
Product Description
“A poet’s fairy tale, elegant and beguiling”(Julian Barnes) that summons up a vast Netherlands encompassing Europe’s highest peaks and a captivating pair of circus performers hunting for work. Translated by Adrienne Dixon.
From Publishers Weekly
A Spanish government official who aspires to be a writer narrates this strange story of a supernatural world filled with unexpected characters, scenes and situations. At the most accessible level the tale revolves around raven-haired Kai and golden-haired Lucia, circus illusionists, both flawlessly beautiful and perfectly happy and both, naturally, destined to come to grief. He’s kidnapped by the evil Snow Queen whose chauffeur and stud he’s compelled to become; she has comparably trying experiences. But Dutch novelist-poet-playwright- translator Nooteboom is concerned with more complex matters: in the modern spirit he is exploring metaphysical and esthetic mazes. When you say “once upon a time,” the narrator remarks, you have created an “extratemporal and extraterritorial reality in which anything is possible”; and “fairy tales are beloved lies told by people who find the failed myth of life intolerable.” In this engaging, imaginative work of experimental fiction, evil is finally expunged in a bloodbath, and the beautiful, sore-tried pair are reunited. QPBC alternate.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
About the Author
CEES NOOTEBOOM was born in 1933 in The Hague. He has published nine novels and over a dozen collections of travel writing, including Roads to Santiago. He lives in Amsterdam and Spain.
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