NRC's Best Dutch novels

Last updated

NRC's Best Dutch novels is a list of the most popular Dutch-language novels as of 2007.

Contents

This list is based on an internet survey on books, carried out by the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad in the beginning of 2007. The Dutch public originally voted for their best-loved books from a "long-list". The long-list also contained Flemish authors like Louis Paul Boon, Hugo Claus and Willem Elsschot. From this, a "short-list" of ten books was drawn up for further voting. In March 2007 the final voting as shown below was presented on the Dutch national television.

The list comprises 9 novels. The works by Nescio are three novellas which have been published together. The list no longer contains Flemish (Belgian) authors.

The 10 books

  1. Harry Mulisch, The Discovery of Heaven ; (1992)
  2. Kader Abdolah, The House of the Mosque ; (2005)
  3. Multatuli, Max Havelaar ; (1860)
  4. J. Bernlef, Out of mind  [ nl ]; (1984)
  5. Willem Frederik Hermans, The Darkroom of Damocles ; (1958)
  6. Willem Frederik Hermans, Beyond Sleep ; (1966)
  7. J. J. Voskuil, Het Bureau  [ de; nl; no ]; (series; 1996 - 2000)
  8. Nescio, The Mooch  [ nl ], Young Bucks  [ nl ], Dichtertje  [ nl ]; (three novellas; 1911-1918)
  9. Gerard Reve, De avonden (The evenings); (1947)
  10. Thomas Rosenboom, Publieke werken ; (1999)

See also

Related Research Articles

Harry Mulisch Dutch writer

Harry Kurt Victor Mulisch was a Dutch writer. He wrote more than 80 novels, plays, essays, poems, and philosophical reflections. Mulisch's works have been translated into over thirty languages.

Willem Frederik Hermans Dutch writer

Willem Frederik Hermans was a Dutch author of poetry, novels, short stories, plays, as well as booklength studies, essays, and literary criticism. His most famous works are The House of Refuge, The Darkroom of Damocles, and Beyond Sleep.

Gerard Reve Dutch writer

Gerard Kornelis van het Reve was a Dutch writer. He started writing as Simon Gerard van het Reve and adopted the shorter Gerard Reve[ˈɣeːrɑrt ˈreːvə] in 1973. Together with Willem Frederik Hermans and Harry Mulisch, he is considered one of the "Great Three" of Dutch post-war literature. His 1981 novel De vierde man was the basis for Paul Verhoeven's 1983 film.

Kader Abdolah Iranian-Dutch writer, poet and columnist

Hossein Sadjadi Ghaemmaghami Farahani (Persian: حسین سجادی قائم‌مقامی فراهانی‎, better known by his pen name Kader Abdolah, is an Iranian-Dutch writer, poet and columnist. His books, written in Dutch, often contain Persian literary themes. He regularly appears on Dutch TV as well.

Job Cohen Dutch politician

Marius Job Cohen is a retired Dutch politician and jurist who served as Mayor of Amsterdam from 2001 to 2010 and Leader of the Labour Party (PvdA) from 2010 to 2012.

Nescio Dutch writer

"Nescio", Latin for "I don't know", was the pen name of Dutch writer Jan Hendrik Frederik Grönloh, who was born on June 22, 1882, in Amsterdam and died on July 25, 1961, in Hilversum, also in the Netherlands. Grönloh was a businessman by profession, but as Nescio he is mainly remembered for the three novellas De uitvreter, Titaantjes and Dichtertje. His reputation as an important Dutch writer was only established after his death.

Netherlands Film Festival Annual film festival held in Utrecht, Netherlands

The Netherlands Film Festival is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht.

The Anne Vondeling prize, named after the politician Anne Vondeling a member of the Dutch Labour Party, is an annual award in The Netherlands given to journalists who write in a clear manner concerning political subjects.

Derk Jan Eppink Dutch politician

Derk Jan Eppink is a Dutch journalist, politician in Belgium and the Netherlands, and former cabinet secretary for European Commissioners Bolkestein (1999–2004) and Kallas (2004–2007). In 2009, he was elected to the European Parliament for List Dedecker, and in 2019 for Forum for Democracy. He sits on the European Conservatives and Reformists Group Executive.

The Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren is awarded every three years to an author from the Netherlands, Belgium or, since 2005, Suriname writing in Dutch. It is considered the most prestigious literary award in the Dutch-speaking world, and the award is presented alternately by the reigning Dutch and Belgian monarchs.

The Digital Library for Dutch Literature is a website about Dutch language and Dutch literature. It contains thousands of literary texts, secondary literature and additional information, like biographies, portrayals etcetera, and hyperlinks. The DBNL is an initiative by the DBNL foundation that was founded in 1999 by the Society of Dutch Literature.

Adriaan van Dis Dutch author

Adriaan van Dis is a Dutch author. He debuted in 1983 with the novella Nathan Sid. In 1995 his book Indische Duinen, which in its narrative is a follow up to his debut novella, was also awarded several prestigious literary awards.

Rudy Kousbroek

Herman Rudolf "Rudy" Kousbroek was a Dutch poet, translator, writer and first of all essayist. He was a prominent figure in Dutch cultural life between 1950 and 2010 and one of the most outspoken atheists in the Netherlands. In 1975 he was awarded the P.C. Hooft Prize for his essays.

<i>Beyond Sleep</i>

Beyond Sleep is a novel by the Dutch writer Willem Frederik Hermans, published in February 1966. The protagonist, Dutch geologist Alfred Issendorf, has a geology dissertation in preparation, and embarks on an expedition to Finnmark, northern Norway, to verify his dissertation director's theory that craters in the local landscape were formed by meteor impacts rather than by Ice Age glaciers. Initially he is accompanied by a group of three Norwegian students of geology, but soon after two travel their own course Alfred loses his guide Arne, who falls to his death, and is then on his own in a land where the sun never sets.

The Darkroom of Damocles is a war novel by the Dutch writer Willem Frederik Hermans, published in 1958. An immediate success since it was first published, the novel has been printed in numerous editions and is one of the greatest World War II novels. The book has been translated into English twice, in 1962 by Roy Edwards, and again in 2007 by Ina Rilke. It was adapted into the 1963 film Like Two Drops of Water, directed by Fons Rademakers.

The Collectieve Propaganda van het Nederlandse Boek is a Dutch organization that includes representatives of bookstores and publishers, whose goal is to promote Dutch literature.

Herman Koch Dutch writer and actor (born 1953)

Herman Koch is a Dutch writer and actor. He has written short stories, novels, and columns. His best-selling novel The Dinner (2009) has been translated into 21 languages. He has acted for radio, television, and film. He co-created the long-running TV series Jiskefet (1990–2005).

Dora Dolz

Dora Dolz de Herman was a Spanish-Dutch artist, best known for her ceramic outdoors in the form of chairs and sofas.

References