So, I'm bored beyond belief and I figured it might be interesting to compose a little list. Since a comprehensive list seems doomed to be an exercise in repetitivity and banality, I thought I'd try and find out what in my opinion are the 10 best books ever written in Dutch (er, novels written after 1850, that is).
Now, there is a semi-official canon as laid out by the Maatschappij voor Nederlandse Letterkunde:
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_van_de_Nederlandse_letterkundeThis list has many flaws, but it does seem to include most people whom I'd think would warrant inclusion. (Focus is on 'most', I didn't compose my own little list to compare it to the one over there.)
Anyway, here's my own:
1. Multatuli, Max Havelaar
2. WF Hermans, Nooit Meer Slapen (
Beyond Sleep)
3. Nescio, Boven Het Dal (
Above The Valley)
4. Willem Elsschot, Lijmen/Het Been (
Soft Soap/The Leg)
5. WF Hermans, Het Behouden House (untranslated:
The Preserved House)
6. Louis Paul Boon, De Kappelekensbaan (
Chapel Road)
7. Hugo Claus, Het Verdiet van België (
The Sorrow of Belgium)
8. JJ Slauerhoff, Het Verboden Rijk - Het Leven Op Aarde (
The Forbidden Empire - Life on Earth)
9. Tim Krabbé, De Renner (
The Rider)
10. Harry Mulisch, De Ontdekking van de Hemel (
The Discovery of Heaven)
Just a private little distraction, obviously.
I'm a bit doubtful about no. 10, but somehow not including Mulisch would seem a little excessive if I also was already going to omit Couperus and Reve while including Krabbé and Slauerhoff. Maybe I ought to have given it to Du Perron's Het Land van Herkomst (
The Country of Origin) just to have someone with a Forum affiliation in. If I was going to include poetry as well, I think van Ostaeijen's Bezette Stad (
Occupied City) might have proven irresistible.
On closer reflection, I appear to have failed to include
any WWII literature. Trust me that's a prestation that can count, too.
