Press clippings
- November 2009: 'Maria in der Hafenkneipe' by Willem Elsschot
- October 2009: 'Regarder le soleil' by Anne Provoost
- July 2009: ‘On Black Sisters' Street' by Chika Unigwe
- June 2009: ‘Terres de promesse' by Joseph Pearce
- April 2009: ‘The Angel Maker' in Bild Am Sonntag and Glasgow Evening Times
- January 2009: ‘Ceci n'est pas la bd flamande' in Le Soir
- October 2008: 'Jonkvrouw' in Die Zeit
- August 2008: David van Reybrouck in Le Soir
November 2009: 'Maria in der Hafenkneipe' by Willem Elsschot
‘Maria in der Hafenkneipe' is the German translation of ‘Het Dwaallicht' (‘Will-o'-the-Wisp') by Willem Elsschot, a Flemish classic. The book, which was published by Unionsverlag, got positive reviews in the German media.
‘Elsschot is one of the classics in Dutch-language Belgian literature, which is very popular with connoisseurs as well as the larger public. His laconic style, his sovereign irony and his non-sentimental choice of themes, which does not impede great sympathy, add to this.' Deutschlandradio Kultur, dradio.de, 25 November 2009
‘That it occurs right after the war - the book was first published in 1946 - one does not suspect. The text seems contemporary, can be read as if it were written today, especially when you find out that the three sailors are not Indian or African, like Laarmans thinks, but from Afghanistan.' Neues Deutschland, 28 November 2009
‘Het Dwaallicht' is Elsschot's last and most enigmatic work. Many consider this novel to be his master piece. It tells the story of Frans Laarmans' nocturnal wanderings through Antwerp in the company of three Afghan sailors in search of a woman, Maria Van Dam. It turns into a journey full of surprises, interruptions, reflections and inhibitions.
Elsschot's oeuvre may be rather modest in size, it has not lost any power or importance. In 2010, the city of Antwerp remembers the fiftieth anniversary of the author's death with a literary and cultural festival. The Elsschot year will officially start on 29 May.
October 2009: 'Regarder le soleil' by Anne Provoost
The French-speaking press has nothing but praise for ‘Regarder le soleil' (Looking into the sun), the French translation of ‘In de zon kijken' by Anne Provoost. The first foreign-language edition of the novel appeared end of August 2009 and was published by Fayard. ‘In de zon kijken' paints a portrait of a mourning mother, seen through the eyes of her child. It is for this novel that Anne Provoost received the Flemish Community prize for fiction 2008 (CultuurPrijs Vlaanderen).
In France, newspaper Le Monde has commented on Provoost's remarkable talent:
‘‘Regarder le soleil' apporte la preuve d'un remarquable univers romanesque et d'un grand talent d'écriture'. Le Monde, 28 August 2009
Anne Provoost's novel was also applauded in several Walloon newspapers. Le Soir, for instance, compares her narrative style to some North-American female writers:
‘Chloé ne fait pas de liens raisonnables entre les faits qu'elle observe, elle en établit d'autres, où priment sa sensibilité et son intuition. Quelques romancières nord-américaines excellent dans cette technique. On songe à Joyce Carol Oates, à Annie Proulx, à Alice Munro. Le plus surprenant, c'est qu'Anne Provoost parvienne à les égaler'. Le Soir, 2 October 2009
More praise in Le Soir and La Libre Belgique:
‘[...] un livre dense et mûr, écrit à Borgerhout près d'Anvers, mais destiné à circuler de par le monde'. Le Soir, 2 October 2009
‘Un roman poignant, admirablement servi par une sobriété de moyens qui lui confère une étrange poésie et un charme insidieux. Ce pourrait être sinistre, étouffant; il n'en est rien, grâce à l'efficacité du style de l'auteur dont les phrases simples, teintées d'humour noir, font mouche et masquent une sensibilité à fleur de mots'. La Libre Belgique, 27 October 2009
July 2009: ‘On Black Sisters' Street' by Chika Unigwe
The second novel by Flemish-Nigerian writer Chika Unigwe was released this summer by her London-based publisher Jonathan Cape (Random House). The publisher chose the telling title ‘On Black Sisters' Street'. The book immediately caught the attention of the British press and got several reviews. Amongst others, by critic Bernardine Evaristo in British newspaper The Independent.
‘This is an important and accomplished novel that leaves a strong aftertaste. Unigwe gives voice to those who are voiceless, fleshes out the stories of those who offer themselves as meat for sale, and bestows dignity on those who are stripped off it'. The Independent, 3 July 2009
‘Fata Morgana' tells the gripping story of four young Nigerian women who end up as prostitutes in Antwerp. To escape their dead-end lives and grinding poverty in their homeland, they sell their bodies on Black Sisters' street. They can only afford to return home after they have paid off all their debts to their Nigerian pimp.
Earlier this year, Neri Pozza published an Italian translation titled ‘Le Nigeriane'. In 2007, Jonathan Cape also translated Unigwe's first novel ‘The phoenix'.
June 2009: ‘Terres de promesse' by Joseph Pearce
The French media are taken with ‘Terres de promesse', the French translation of Joseph Pearce's ‘Land van belofte' (Lands of promise). Early June 2009, the book got a rave review in the literary pages of French newspaper Le Monde. Critic Nils C. Ahl emphasizes the ‘fine portrait gallery' drawn by Pearce and the amazing way in which Pearce undertakes ‘a journey in time, space and language‘. He concludes that the book is more than a mere study or a family chronicle, from the first pages on it exudes literature.
‘Plus qu'une étude, on veut retenir un livre d'écrivain - une topographie, une prière, presqu'un roman'. Le Monde, 5 June 2009
This Spring, renowned French cultural magazine Revue des Deux Mondes put Pearce's book in their top ten of best contemporary books.
‘Terres de promesse' also appeals to the Walloon media. In his review in Le Soir, Jacques De Decker calls it a masterpiece. The literary critic considers Pearce to be a great talent and compares his works to those of internationally renowned authors Sandor Marai and W.G. Sebald.
‘Un mot vient à l'esprit pour résumer tant de beauté: chef-d'œuvre. À la lecture de son livre ‘Terres de promesse', on a l'impression d'avoir affaire à un disciple de W.G. Sebald pour la capacité de situer l'expérience vécue dans son exacte dimension morale, ou à un autre Sandor Marai pour la très sensible divination des êtres. Ces références sont impressionnantes mais justifiées. Voici un talent de très haut niveau, et il ne serait pas surprenant que sa parution en langue française prélude à un plus vaste rayonnement encore(...)'. Le Soir, 19 June 2009
‘Terres de promesse' was published by French publisher Actes Sud, who last year also released Pearce's novel ‘Graines de pavot' (‘Maanzaad' or Poppy Seed). ‘Maanzaad' tells the story of Pearce's Jewish roots and the Diaspora.
April 2009: ‘The Angel Maker' in Bild Am Sonntag and Glasgow Evening Times
The translations (nine already) of 'The Angel Maker' by Stefan Brijs are doing great. Brijs is applauded for his bestseller both in the national and the foreign press, amongst others in the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag and the Glasgow Evening Times.
‘A devilish, dramatic thriller'. Bild am Sonntag.
‘Compelling ... succeeds in immersing the reader in a gripping story'. Glasgow Evening Times.
The German translation of 'The Angel Maker' was published in 2007 by BTB, the English one in 2008 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. In the fall of 2008, Penguin Books also released a paperback version.
January 2009: ‘Ceci n'est pas la bd flamande' in Le Soir
The exhibition was set up by the Flemish Literature Fund to introduce 20 current talents to the international public at the comics festival in Angoulême. Not only did the FLF reach its goal, it exceeded all expectations. The comics artists received lots of praise in the media. We translate an excerpt from an article in Le Soir.
‘(With that said), the talent of the new Flemish comics artists is undeniable. If some of them, like Nix ('Kinky & Cosy'), Luc Cromheecke ('Tom Carbone'), Olivier Schrauwen ('Mon fiston') or Randall Caesar ('Les somnambules'), are already known in the French language, the others are certainly worth to be discovered, Jeroen Janssen or Maarten Vande Wiele to name but them.' - Le Soir, January 2009
October 2008: 'Jonkvrouw' in Die Zeit
Praise for 'Jonkvrouw' by Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem and Pat van Beirs in Die Zeit.
‘Ghent-born authors Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem and Pat van Beirs write about a dramatic chapter in the history of Flanders in a masterly way. Power and temperament give the tale conviction, far away from mere medieval setting and brave historical obligingness.' - Die Zeit, October 1st 2008.
'Jonkvrouw' was published in 2006 by Facet.
August 2008: David van Reybrouck in Le Soir
In her article in Belgian newspaper Le Soir (August 29, 2008), Colette Braeckman sang the praises of the French translation of 'De plaag' by David Van Reybrouck.
'David Van Reybrouck est un esprit curieux, ses passions sont multiples. (...) Mais surtout, notre Flamand iconoclaste ronge, avec une patience d'insecte, le socle de la statue de Maeterlinck, dont il évoque les amours, les ennuis d'argent, les dérives politiques et une gloire qui finit par paraître bien surfaite.'
'Le fléau' was published in the spring of 2008 by Actes Sud (France), in a translation by Pierre-Marie Finkelstein.
