Literature Topic

I realize all of you students are probably sick to death of literature, especially at this time of year (although I find this to be a very literate group), but I have just finished reading a translation of a novel by Belgian author Anne Provoost (Arksvaarders) that I coincidentally found on sale locally. Are any of you familiar with her work? What do you think of it? Are there any other Belgian authors you could recommend?

I have (read) The Rose and the Swine by Anne Provoost. It was a story based on the originale tale of the Beauty and the Beast. I rather liked it, although it might be classified as womens litterature.

Some of my favourite contemporary Flemish authors are Tom Lanoye, Saskia de Coster, Herman Brusselmans and Erwin Mortier.

I would like to point out that there isn't really such a thing as Belgian litterature though. As the rest of our cultural activity it is divided in a Flemish and Walloon part. They mainly just coexist without much interaction between the two.

What kind of books do you like to read? And have you read any other Belgian others before?

To be honest, I don't really follow contemporary Flemish literature (or Dutch literature for that matter) - Louis Paul Boon, Gerard Walschap and Willem Elsschot are probably the most "recent" authors I've read lately, but they are considered to be classic Flemish authors. Instead I usually read Russian literature (both for my studies and out of personal interest).

By the way, Maurice Maeterlinck (born in Ghent , but he wrote in French) is the only Belgian author who received a Nobel Prize.

Aldous Zamiatin wrote:By the way, Maurice Maeterlinck (born in Ghent , but he wrote in French) is the only Belgian author who received a Nobel Prize.

I heard he rlly looked down upon the Flemish language

I'm not rlly into Flemish litterature either: I'm in my sparetime more of a fantasy reader, and most writers of that are americans/british. I do enjoy a good book though.

I don't really like flemmish authors. I like quite a few dutch one's thou, With Mulish as my all-time favorite.

i'm also a big fan of fantasy novels

As I said, this is a very literate group. I have not been exposed to any of the other authors mentioned, but will certainly see if I can find some of them. My own reading tastes are fairly diverse. I do often like "women's literature" and can see why Provoost might be described that way, although I had mixed feelings about the one book of hers I have read. Beli's mention of The Rose and the Swine makes me think Provoost may be similar to Gregory Maguire (Wicked, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and others) in retelling familiar tales from a different point of view, which she certainly did in Arkvaarders, and like Maguire, she is trying to get people to rethink their old ideas about many things other than the story she is retelling.

My own reading is pretty diverse. I like mystery and suspense, particularly medical or political thrillers, Regency romance (especially Georgette Heyer), the aforementioned Maguire, some classics (I love Jane Austen), Lucy Maud Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables and sequels, plus others, primarily oriented to young Canadian girls of the early 20th century, but popular worldwide--her birthplace in Prince Edward Island is often flooded with Japanese tourists), the Harry Potter series (after I got dragged to the first movie by a coworker and bullied into reading by my younger daughter), historical fiction, and a wide variety of other fiction, as long as it is well written and not too sensational (that is, I don't mind blood and clinical details if they are appropriate and necessary to the story, but I dislike ghoulishness and horror writing, although I did read some early Stephen King, who graduated from the same University I did, a couple of years earlier, and was, in fact, in the same freshman composition class with my 1st husband).

I also read quite a bit of nonfiction by spells, particularly politics and spiritual things, some of the more recent being works by Eckhart Tolle and When God Was a Woman. I have read both the entire Bible and Quran (in translation) multiple times, as well as The Book of Mormon, and bits and pieces of Hindu and Native American writings. As mentioned before, I am an amateur poet, as well, and enjoy poetry, including but not limited to the work of other amateurs I know in RL, some of whom often stretch my recollection of Greek/Roman/Norse mythology. Mention almost anything, and I am willing to give it a try!

Which fantasy writers are we talking about?

Myself I usually read philosophy, social sciences and political works. I'm a man of ideologies and I think to much about "the perfect society." I'm started writing my own manifest before the exams and I'm planning on continuing afterward, I'll put it on-line for the Dutch-speaking population of RB!

If I had to choose my best latest fiction books I'd choose:
"Imperium" from Robert Harris. It's like a from bottom-to-top story (like scarface) from the eyes from Cicero. Very nice language!

"Het paneel van Vlaanderen" (Panel of Flanders, my altime favourite btw) from Arturo Perez Reverte. It isn't really a masterpiece but I enjoyed the melancholic situations, the darkness of the characters, the yuppie style...

"American Psycho" from Bret Easton Ellis. I enjoyed the endless descriptions, details and twisted way of thinking. Much much better than the movie, altough Christian Bale did a very nice job.

What am I currently reading and planning to finish during the vacations (I read a lot in 3 months!)
- Canonical Right (I'm very interested in the Catholic Church)
- Capitalism and Freedom (Milton Friedman)
- The Social Contract (JJ Rousseau )
- Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life (John Lee Anderson)
- The Communist Manifesto (For the 3rd time)
- Econoshock (Geert Noels)
- the New Testament (If I have spare time!)

Rso

That's quite a list, Reaussou! And I like your idealism. It's true, we may not ever achieve an ideal world, either in RL or in eLife, but I've always liked the quotation from Robert Browning, "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?" I hope you do get to read the New Testament, not necessarily for religious purposes, but because there is a lot in it about building a good society, and it can even be seen as rather revolutionary, especially if you remember the context of the times it came from. BTW, my oldest daughter got her degree in philosophy, and one of my stepdaughters is studying to be social worker.

Hey Maryam

If you're interested in reading in French, by a Belgian author, I would certainly recommend Amélie Nothomb. I suppose that if you are French speaking you know her, if not, well happy ot help ;-)

She is really easy to read, her books are quite short, and it is really enjoying... well for me at least. Each year I wait for her book to come out.

Or of course there is George Simenon...

I must admit I don't know a lot of them, cause I studied English and Spanish literature more than Belgian... or even French... or is it that I don't remember? ;-)

Well anyway
I am going to try to read the books from the list of the 100 books you have to read before you die...

Enjoy

Chris

Where do I find that list?

on the internet... there are several... but on most of them there are all the same books...

just google 'list books read before dead' or something like that... ;-)

Chance wants it that I know Anne Provoost,
she helped me with my dissertation on youth literature back at uni,
already a long time ago.

If you like her work, indeed read up on her. Roos en het Zwijn (as was already mentioned), but also Mijn Tante is een Grindewal (my aunt is a pilot whale) is definately worth reading.