The Following Story

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The Following Story
AuthorCees Nooteboom
Original titleHet volgende verhaal
TranslatorIna Rilke
CountryNetherlands
LanguageDutch
PublisherDe Arbeiderspers
Publication date
1991
Published in English
1993
Pages92
ISBN90-70066-88-2

The Following Story (Dutch: Het volgende verhaal) is a 1991 novel by the Dutch writer Cees Nooteboom. It portrays a former teacher of classical languages, turned writer of travel guides, who has a mysterious experience in which he wakes up in a different city from where he fell asleep.

Reception

Ben Rogers of The Independent described the story as "both abstract and particular, poetic and prosaic, surreal and mundane."[1] He wrote that the ideas of the novel will appeal to philosophers and scientists alike, as well as to both classicist and fans of modern literature. Rogers continued:

"Yet beyond the learning so wittily displayed, there is something deeper that might speak to anyone: a voyage around memory and death, myth and disillusionment. By the end, Nooteboom has shown himself a master of ironic wisdom, but also of elated, elegiac feeling. Intricately composed and finely translated, The Following Story will still be delivering after many readings - and on the first it is funny as well as affecting."[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Rogers, Ben (1994-01-02). "Socrates goes Dutch". The Independent. Retrieved 2012-02-13.