The Following Story

Herman Musset, a quiet, introverted teacher of Latin and Greek, and who spends all of his time reading. He writes travel guides under the name of Dr Strabo, and calls it 'a moronic activity whereby I earn my living'. In his spare time - when he is not reading - he translates Ovid's Metamorphosis, a translation he wants nobody to see because, 'Our modern languages are altogether too wordy...the traffic jam, the jumble of words, blathering chaos.' He falls asleep one night in his home in Amsterdam, and awakens in Lisbon, twenty years previous. He is unsure if he is dead, or has been transported back through time, or whether he is hallucinating. Or, maybe, some other possibility that he cannot imagine. All he knows is that the room he woke up in, the room in Lisbon, is the very same place where he slept with another man's wife. In waking up in this room, he remembers the actions of all those years ago and the people that were affected. Lisa d'India, a talented, beautiful student, he remembers the best. She was loved by all for her intelligence, loved by Herman for the ideal she represented. He admired her, appreciated her skill with Greek, but he did not love her in the carnal sense, the way every else seemed to. For Herman, sexual love '[has] more to do with the animal kingdom than with human beings, who concern themselves with the less tangible aspects of existence.' Lisa d'India is loved, most especially, by Arend Herfst, a poet and basketball teacher. He begins a relationship with the girl, and it seems that everyone but Herman is aware of this. Arend's wife, Maria Zeinstra, begins an affair with Herman, an affair of revenge, not love or lust, and Herman is completely unaware of this fact. Happily, the plot never moves into confusing betrayals or empty, 'romantic' gestures. Instead, we follow the events through the absent-minded, bewildered eyes of Herman. His affair with Maria Zeinstra, an affair that he did not plan and did not really want, is somewhat beyond his talents in people interaction. He does not know how to handle her, and luckily, does not have to. Herman is used merely as a piece in the strategy game that husband and wife are playing. Yet, Maria's relationship with Herman is not malicious, as far as we can tell, and is oftentimes quite gentle. The clandestine cum love story plot is one that can easily be ignored, and indeed is for most of the novel. The true focus is Herman. He is an amazing character, a learned, intelligent, gentle man, who is 'as ugly as Socrates'. He quotes Ovid, Tacitus and Shakespeare in his meandering confessions, he considers this philosophy or that author, wonders about the state of art and culture, comments on everything with a wry wink to the reader. Herman is a man who enjoys words more than anything else in this world, he enjoys reading them and - while he considers his own talents to be of a poor quality, and useless when compared to the Latin and Greek greats - he loves writing down his thoughts.

A friend told me, because I love Jim Harrison, Milorad Pavic', and Walker Percy, that I must read Cees Nooteboom. I bought "The Following Story". I can't explain this book. Van Morrison meets Rilke. Tom Waits meets Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Bruce Cockburn meets Larry Brown. This mysterious and deeply touching tale reaches heights most only dream of. It is a story of love, questions, regret, hope, death, and desire.Vivillo

I've come across this book quite inadvertently (or serendipitously taking into account the results)attracted by its European Literary Prize. But from the first page I was fascinated by this literary masterpiece of previously unknown (for me) author. It is a love story dressed in apparel of modern psychology and philosophy, overwhelming beautiful and devastatingly sad, absolutely devoided of schmaltz. This incredibly succinct book includes stupendous magnitude of contemplations and reflections, metaphors and symbols, images and emotions. Its composition is perfect - from humorous observations of ostentatious misanthrope nonplussed by extraordinary awaking in a memorable place to the pinnacle of genuine understanding of human tragedy of classical scope where jealousy and vengeance generate distorted passion and destroy real love. Its language is exquisite, the language of the sincere poet. It is the book which you'll want to reread when the last phrase still reverberates in your mind. It is one of the best books I've ever read, chef d'oeuvre of intelligent, perspicacious and generous author.

Rarely can such a slim book encompass such huge ideas and articulate them so eloquently. Additionally it is a brilliant love story with not a trace of sentimentality. (What, don't know what I'm talking about? Re-read the ending and determine to whom he is addressing the following story). A lapse or two into the farcical is really the only thing one can find to criticize here. It can bear up under, and deserves, several re-readings.

Mr. Nootebooms book tells a fascinating story about an outlived teacher in classical languages (or a classical teacher in languages). He getting more and more trouble with the problem of knowledge and reality. What is real? What is imagination or hallucinations? It's a rather sad book - but funny and wise. I really (?) enjoyd it and I thank Mr. Nooteboom for having written it. Anders Hjertén