2010/14

Hugo Claus: De Geruchten (224p.)

For you all non-Belgians out there:

Belgian Hugo Claus wrote in Dutch (he was a Fleming) and did it so well that he’s widely regarded as one of the finest writers in Dutch, together with Dutchmen Reve, Hermans, Wolkers, and Mulisch (the Big Five if you will).

This is my second Claus only (a few years back I did De Verwondering, which has been translated in English as Wonder – a rather dense and experimental novel set in Ostend), so I’m certainly no specialist, but what Claus excelled at was to write about important (Flemish/Belgian) themes (i.e. Catholicism, Congo, WWII collaboration, Flemings and Walloons, sexuality) in a language that is simple, folksy (often using dialect), accessible. In doing so, Claus greatly contributed to the emancipation of the Flemish/Belgian people (an unfinished project).

Just scroll down the Dutch Wiki page (keep on scrolling!) to get an idea of the size of Claus’ oeuvre, which consists of poetry, plays, stories, novels, essays, scripts, libretti, and novellas. Claus also directed movies and painted. The Flemish Nobel that will not be as Claus died in 2008.

De Geruchten has not been translated in English. René Catrijsse, deserter in a colonial war, returns home to his Flemish village in the beginning of the sixties, and sets in motion a series of mysterious events.

Great!

Charlie duwt op een paar knoppen. Hij heeft zelf de radio ingebouwd. Wat zouden we doen zonder handige, goedlachse Charlie?

‘Luister,’ zegt hij.

‘Ik luister,’ zegt René.

‘Haydn,’ zegt Charlie. ‘Toen ik nog les gaf vergeleek ik de sonates van Haydn altijd met diamanten. Opgegraven uit de darmen van de aarde en tot transcendentie gebracht. Dit moet in majeur zijn. Nummer Eenendertig. In het jaar 1766 of ’68. Jammer dat we geen rode Libanon bij ons hebben, ge hoort het zoveel beter.’