Lovely Plasters for Zes Beetwonden
The promo-storm has died down a little, but there’s still a lot of movement in the air. The Dutch edition of my book received a couple of excellent reviews recently (see below) and I’m warming up for Het Andere Boek in Antwerp this weekend, where I’ll be sharing the stage with Damon Galgut and Gawie Keyser. More soon.
“This book is like a rollercoaster – fast, dizzying, and totally original. It is therefore hardly surprising the Richard de Nooy won the Best First Book Award from the University of Johannesburg for this debut novel. […] De Nooy peppers his story with rapid-fire dialogue and black humour. A totally different South African sound than we’re accustomed to, but absolutely enthralling.”
The above excerpt is from a review published in three Dutch regional dailies. Here’s a link to the full Dutch review in the Noord-Hollands Dagblad, which listed ZBEET as its Book of the Day.
“This debut novel, impressively translated by Fred de Vries and the author, is striking due to its unusual structure and flowing style. […] De Nooy has opted to start every chapter with an accident report, many of which are hilarious. The book also features drawings by the author, as well as an “outtakes” section. But Zes beetwonden en een tetanusprik is not just a compendium of flotsam and jetsam. It is remarkably coherent. And that, in itself, is quite an achievement. In fact, this format offers all sorts of new angles to the story. […] According to the author, he is working on two further novels that are tangential to his debut. We look forward to hearing more from this enviably original new voice.”
The above excerpt is from a review by Guus Bauer, posted on Literatuurplein.nl. This excellent and highly informative site also gives an overview of book data and lists links to recent interviews and reviews (all in Dutch, I’m afraid).
