#stefan brijs
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free my man he did all that but it was the religious trauma
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you know what? to be completely fair to dr victor hoppe, if that had happened to me, I, too would develop a complicated (read: fucked up) relationship with like. Everything
#(he’s the main character of the book I’m currently reading lol)#(de engelenmaker/the angel maker by stefan brijs)#elli rambles#can’t speak for the english translation but the original dutch book is really good so far#even though I found the first part of the book pretty boring the second part is incredibly interesting#like man! I Get why he turned out Like That! what the fuck!#the book is such an interesting exploration of christianity/religious trauma & hubris & parent-child relationships & nature vs nurture#that said I do wonder: mr stefan brijs were you perhaps raised catholic? obviously he could have been raised areligiously & just done#loads of research etc but catholicism is Such an important thing in the book that I think it’s the most likely explanation#I would probably get even more out of the book if I like. knew the bible but I am Not reading that thang for this#though it might be worthwhile to go through the dates mentioned in the book & look up if they’ve got importance in christianity (like#holidays & such). wouldn’t put it past the author#anyway. advertisement voice: god complexes! medical inaccuracies & malpractice! explorations of characters that make you go ‘why the fuck#are they Like That’! if you like these things you may be interested in ‘the angel maker’ by stefan brijs#de engelenmaker
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🍙
What story (fanfiction or published work) had the biggest impact on you? Ohohoh okay so not to be a fanboy but uh it's because of @preblematic that I'm even on Tumblr in the first place. I read their Desperate Lovers series and immediately became obsessed, and decided to get on (my original) Tumblr! Besides Desperate Lovers, @xxstaystillxx's fanfictions were one of the big inspirations that got me back into writing. As for published works, I read The Angel Maker by Stefan Brijs in secondary school, and that book hasn't left my mind since. It was something unlike anything I had read for a class before and it enraptured me. I'd gladly read it again.
#sorry if its weird that i @ed yall i felt like it would be weirder not to#tag game#fanfiction#books#asks
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begging you to recommend me freaky fucked up dutch lit
Ok ok ok,,, so!
I have compiled a lil list for you, here's the thing though. These luckily do have english translations and depending on if you are Dutch/speak Dutch you will probably have heard of these. You will have seen them on the reading lists during high school because although your teacher tries to find something for everything and be a bit more modern,, it’s not all that successful.
sidenote for context:
Oftentimes, Dutch lit is not really for me. this has to do with the high school thing. reading levels in the Netherlands are down, about every year there will be some boomer or other complaining them youngsters don’t read anymore. True, but I vehemently believe this is because of what we had to read in high school. Because although its great if literature is weird, I mean yay artistic expression! Not too handy dandy when trying to introduce a bunch of teens to it to just throw em in the deep end and hope they’ve read them by the end of the year. It’s kind of a IYKYK thing. (it’s a rather complicated matter and this is a very condensed version of it but if I talk about that you’ll get an essay to get my thoughts across instead of what you’ve asked me which is some recommendations.)
Another bit of context: dutch lit doesn’t really shy away from religious, sexual, and sometimes gory themes. Infidelity sometimes feels a bit like the norm. Also lot of it is very straight (incest too). That being said, dutch literature has plenty of great stuff too (kader abdoulah has some cool stuff but is a lot less weird than trad dutch lit)
Having all That out of the way: FuckyWucky dutch lit incoming!:
(I have copied the descriptions from goodreads because I have not read all of these and if I were to go as far as do so this ask would not be answered for another two years)
De avond is ongemak/The discomfort of evening by Lucas Rijneveld
(The first one that reminded me when weird dutch lit comes to pass)
“I thought about being too small for so much, but that no one told you when you were big enough ... and I asked God if he please couldn't take my brother Matthies instead of my rabbit. 'Amen.'
Jas lives with her devout farming family in the rural Netherlands. One winter's day, her older brother joins an ice skating trip; resentful at being left alone, she makes a perverse plea to God; he never returns. As grief overwhelms the farm, Jas succumbs to a vortex of increasingly disturbing fantasies, watching her family disintegrate into a darkness that threatens to derail them all.
De engelenmaker/The angelmaker by Stefan Brijs
The village of Wolfheim is a quiet little place until the geneticist Dr. Victor Hoppe returns after an absence of nearly twenty years. The doctor brings with him his infant children-three identical boys all sharing a disturbing disfigurement. He keeps them hidden away until Charlotte, the woman who is hired to care for them, begins to suspect that the triplets-and the good doctor- aren't quite what they seem. As the villagers become increasingly suspicious, the story of Dr. Hoppe's past begins to unfold, and the shocking secrets that he has been keeping are revealed. A chilling story that explores the ethical limits of science and religion, The Angel Maker is a haunting tale in the tradition of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein . Brought to life by internationally bestselling author Stefan Brijs, this eerie tale promises to get under readers' skin.
Het smelt/The Melting by Lize Spit
Eva can trace the route to Pim's farm with her eyes closed, even though she has not been to Bovenmeer for many years. There she grew up among the rape fields and dairy farms. There lies also the root of all their grief.
Eva was one of three children born in her small Flemish town in 1988. Growing up alongside the boys Laurens and Pim, Eva sought refuge from her loveless family life in the company of her two friends. But with adolescence came a growing awareness of their burgeoning sexuality. Driven by their newly found desires, the children begin a game that will have serious and violent consequences for them all. Thirteen years after the summer she's tried for so long to forget, Eva is returning to her village. Everything fell apart that summer, but this time she'll be prepared. She has a large block of ice in her car boot and she's ready to settle the score...
Tirza/Tirza by Arnon Grunberg
Jorgen Hofmeester once had it all: a beautiful wife, a nice house with a garden in an upperclass neighborhood in Amsterdam, a respectable job as an editor, two lovely daughters named Ibi and Tirza, and a large amount of money in a Swiss bank account. But during the preparations for Tirza's graduation party, we come to know what he has lost. His wife has left him; Ibi is starting a bed and breakfast in France, an idea which he opposed; the director of the publishing house has fired him; and his savings accounts have vanished in the wake of 9/11.
But Hoffmeester still has Tirza, until she introduces him to her new boyfriend, Choukri - who bears a disturbing resemblance to Mohammed Atta - and they announce their plans to spend several months in Africa. A heartrending and masterful story of a man seeking redemption, Tirza marks a high point in Grunberg's still-developing oeuvre.
(also I think believe he has a thing for his daughters)
De donkere kamer van Damocles/The darkroom of Damocles by Willem Frederik Hermans
During the German occupation of Holland, tobacconist Henri Osewoudt is visited by Dorbeck. Dorbeck is Osewoudt's spitting image in reverse. Henri is blond and beardless, with a high voice; Dorbeck is dark-haired, and his voice deep.
Dorbeck gives Osewoudt a series of dangerous assignments: helping British agents and eliminating traitors. But the assassinations get out of hand...
The story of Osewoudt's fateful wanderings through a sadistic universe is thrilling. Is Osewoudt hero or villain? Or is he a psychopath, driven by delusions? It is the impossibility of ascertaining whether Osewoudt was on the "right" side or the "wrong" side - the moral issue of the Second World War in a nutshell - that makes Hermans' novel as breathtaking now as when it was written a decade after the war.
Having given these five recs, this is like the tip of the iceberg
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Recensie ; Maan en zon - Stefan Brijs
Koen Driessens start zijn recensie met het zin " Een Vlaming die schrijft over een verdofte parel aan de Nederlandse kroon?" En dat vind ik zeer interessant. Ik had er niet echt aan gedacht maar ja, Stefan brijs is een vlaming die over een zeer nederlandse 'risqué' onderwerp schrijft. Het zet het hele verhaal in een verschillende en redelijk interessante perspectief.
Beide recensies spreken over een hele aangrijpende verhaal en met dat ben ik min of meer niet akkoord mee. Ik vond het verhaal interessant, zeker maar ik vondt het niet per say aangrijpend. Ik moest erg veel concentreren om het boek echt beginnen. Het is een relatief langzame verhaal dat over een lange periode zich afspeeld. Er gebeurt veel, maar het voelt niet zo, het manier waarop het is geschreven maak me echt teleurgesteld.
Zoals in beide recensies vind ik ook dat het familie relatie aspect van dit boek heel goed is en het deel dat ik leukste vond. Ik vond dat waneer Max gaat trouwen en vader wordt, wordt het verhaal eerder boeiend. Ik vind enkele thema's en personages waarmee ik een band kan voelen, Sonny de zoon van Max vind ik nog een realistische geloofwaardige personage, zo kom ik terug op de recensie van Koen Driessens ; "Samen met zijn kansarme, tragische zoon Max en zijn in de greep van blingbling en patserige drugsbaronnen verzeilde kleinzoon Sonny vormt de leugenachtige charmeur Roy een trio levensechte en geloofwaardige personages."
Er zijn drie generaties van familie en het is heel boeiend om Max te zien proberen om zijn zoon verschillend opvoeden dan hoe hij werd opgevoed door zijn 'macho' vader Roy en dat het niet altijd goed gaat.
Je hebt deze eerste deel van het verhaal, een ongewikkelde familie verhaal en je heb ook een andere deel die gaat alles moeilijker maken ; het Curacao bezet door nederlanders. En al de problemen die ermee komen. Er is een zekere begrip van binnenlanders en het conflict dat er daar gebeurde. "De gelatenheid van de eilanders wordt in het boek goed beschreven." (recensie van Nathalie Brouwers) Stefan heeft niet zelf in Curacao geleefd maar zijn vrouw wel.
Curacao dient hier meer als een soort personage dan als een ruimte, het is een plaats die dezelfde problemen gaat veroorzaken als een personage.
In het algemeen ben ik redelijk mee eens met de recensenten, ik vond het misschien toch minder boeiend dan wat zij schrijven maar dat is misschien omdat zij ouder zijn en iets meer zien in het verhaal dan ik.
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hii!! for the "i'm not from the us ask game" (which is so interesting btw)
4, 5, 11 and 23
dw, i’d almost entirely forgotten about it!!! 💀
4. favourite dish specific for your country?
Stamppot rauwe andijvie, always.
Andijvie is a bitter leaf-vegetable related to endives (its latin name is cuchorium endivia). I can’t find any references on it being eaten anywhere other than the Netherlands but please correct me if I’m wrong about that lmao. You can boil/blanch it, but generally we eat it raw. It’s (in my humble opinion) fantastic in ‘stamppot rauwe andijvie’, which is basically just mashed potatoes, chopped andijvie, some spices, and (usually) thick, baked-dry bacon bits. Some people also add cheese, if they finish it off in the oven like a casserole. We tend to add smoked sausage as well.
5. favourite song in your native language?
(choosing was hard) my favourite song is probably Het Regent Zonnestralen by Acda en de Munnik (‘It’s Raining Sunbeams’). I keep coming back to it.
11. favourite native writer/poet?
Omg I don’t actually read a lot of Dutch books anymore, but I suppose Harry Mulisch! He was a Dutch icon and a tremendously prolific author.
Books I enjoyed by Mulisch are Twee Vrouwen (Two Women), a tragic queer romance that plays with the Orpheus and Eurydice myth (opinions on it are… mixed), and De Ontdekking van de Hemel (The Discovery of Heaven), which is considered a masterpiece (it is) and I really… can’t describe it, largely because it’s so long and so much. But it’s beautiful nevertheless.
Some general lit recs (of which there are English translations):
I also really, really enjoyed De Engelenmaker by Stefan Brijs, a Flemish author—‘The Angel Maker’ in English. Creepy and intriguing and wonderful. Brijs sets an incredible tone. Love stuff that plays with hubris.
The other one is a classic and also has a movie: Het Gouden Ei (The Golden Egg) by another Dutch icon, Tim Krabbé. It’s a short thriller and an easy read. Totally recommend it.
23. which alcoholic beverage is the favoured one in your country?
Beer lol. Can’t go wrong with beer here. There’s some spirits too: jenever (the ancestor of gin), a variety of kruidenbitters (spice & herb liquor, very flavourful), and my beloved advocaat (an almost custard-like liquor made of egg(yolk)s, condensed milk, sugar or honey, and an eau de vie).
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Sélection de livres flamands traduits en français :
Je ne suis pas la de Lize Spit
Une ascension de Stefan Hertmans
Ma tante est un cachalot de Anne Provoost
Taxi Curaçao de Stefan Brijs
La route de la chapelle de Louis-Paul Boon
Villa des roses de Willem Elsschot
La langue de ma mère de Tom Lanoye
L'entrée du Christ dans Bruxelles de Dimitri Verhulst
Trouble de Jeroen Olyslaegers
Débâcle de Lize Spit
Le coeur converti de Stefan Hertmans
Guerre et térébenthine de Stefan Hertmans
Courrier des tranchées de Stefan Brijs
L'année du chien de Stefan Brijs
Ma petite guerre de Louis-Paul Boon
Le feu follet de Willem Elsschot
Fromage de Willem Elsschot
Gaz : plaidoyer d'une mère damnée de Tom Lanoye
Décombres flamboyants de Tom Lanoye
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For my fellow dutchies out there if you wanna be traumatized for life go read De Engelenmaker by Stefan Brijs 😭😭 what the actual f was that and why was I so entranced by it 😭😭😭
#de engelenmaker#girls love german doctors in the eighties with asperger and religious trauma who do questionable experiments and end up cloning themselves
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3 chapters left of this weird book I have to read for Dutch literature class
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“Soms is wat onmogelijk lijkt, alleen maar moeilijk”
De engelenmaker (2005) // Stefan Brijs
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Nieuw seizoen van Genk Leest. Welkom!
Nieuw seizoen van Genk Leest. Welkom!
De boeken die we in de bibliotheek Genk vanaf september bespreken zijn bekend. En het zijn er 6 dit jaar. Z-e-s. (Barbara, kom teruggggg!)
Meer info vind je binnenkort op de website van de bibliotheek Genk, maar hier alvast de titels met de datums. We beginnen elke zaterdag om 10.15 u in plaats van 10.00 u.
Goed nieuws! Op 12 oktober zal Stefan Brijsaanwezig zijn bij de bespreking van zijn…
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Whatcha reading?
"I'm reading Stefan Brijs's Angel Maker. It's really interesting so far, but it's very graphic sometimes if that isn't your thing."
#linked the goodreads page for your convenience#anon#add1ss0n#klondike posts#if any of you are gonna read this book and like it you'll have to live with the fact that you discovered it through a deltarune askblog
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TOP 5 BOOKS :D
Oh man this is hard!
1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brönte
2. The Magicians series by Lev Grossman
3. De Engelenmaker (The Angel maker) by Stefan Brijs
4. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
5. The Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman (this is number 5 cause it's actually my favourite childhood series but it deserves a spot in the list imo)
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10? for the game-
10. Pick an author (or writing friend) to co-write a book with
as for like, published authors i think id go withhh belgian author stefan brijs because holy shit that man can write, i read one of his books (the angel maker, i 100% recommend but its really gorey and deals with some serious topics, genuinely do not read unless youre at least 16 because it fucked ME up and i normally love horror stuff) in like a day because it was just that good, it has a lot of deeper layers and symbolism (i wrote a 13 page analysis for it in dutch class when the task was 1 page, that's how deep it is LMFAO)
and mutuals mmmm i think ariel, req or jade? i think i could work pretty well with them ^^
Writer Ask Meme
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stefan brijs - the angel maker
i'd like to preface this by saying that this book is now one of my favorites, and also that it emotionally fucked me up
with that said, before i talk about how i feel about it, have a warning list:
human and animal experiments/medical themes
ableism
religious trauma (related to christianity)
suicide
child death
-
so, how the hell do i introduce this book, huh. well, first of all, i'll say that it was recommended to me by stan who was pretty much like "this is my favorite book" and i trust my epic friend stan because he's cool and has great opinions about media so i was like "okay i'll buy it and read it", and then it took me a long time to go through the book because during april and may i coincidentally felt like shit, so it was... interesting, i guess! to read something so emotionally hard hitting, take a long break, and then read the rest of it all in one sitting to finally be left sitting here like "that fucked me up so much. it was horrible. 10/10 would read it again"
i wanna talk about everything that makes me love this book so much, but it's so plot heavy that 1. this would be far from a spoiler-free review and i don't want to spoil an experience like that compared to other book reviews i've written like really i encourage you to buy it and read it yourself if you have the means to considering that i myself bought the english translation of it and read that, 2. if i did write absolutely everything this review would be fucking miles long and i'm not sure if that's what you all want to read from me
without spoiling anything, though, i'd say that the angel maker is a very interesting, thorough character study through three "acts" which piece by piece, like a jigsaw puzzle, portray the entire mentality and morality of victor hoppe, the doctor this book focuses on. speaking of doctors and plot, the premise is basically just victor, the doctor, coming back to his natal village of wolfheim to be a general practitioner there but people in the village are mostly interested in learning about his three kids whom he's evasive about. you do get to know about hoppe and his kids though and It'll Fuck You Up.
at times the writing feels blunt if i had to say it like that? like something about it and the events in the book are just so hard hitting that it feels like you're being sucker punched pretty frequently, especially considering the kind of events that happen (including one which got me here like "what's this final destination shit" among others)
also with some descriptions you'd need to have a pretty strong stomach so i'm just putting it out here. like some things in this book are genuinely nauseating when you read their descriptions. other times i was a tiny bit confused by super technical medical stuff but it does get explained in a more digestible way sooner or later so it's not something that particularly bothered me in general.
god i have such a hard time to talk about this book if i try to keep it spoiler-free but i'll have to say that just the entire presentation of victor hoppe's character and his sense of morality is fascinating to learn about even though at the same time it's horrible to think about because the entire time i was like "if x happened then y" or "if x didn't happen then y" and like. many times reading this i had moments where "it'd be so simple if" but obviously it's never as easy as it seems and it's very, very painful to think about. it's painful to be faced with characters that are just so. i don't know i can't go too much into it for this review obviously but it's painful to see how everything unfolds and seeing the way everyone thinks and just. by the end of this book i felt like both my brain and heart were scrambled eggs. it was absolutely horrible. i loved this experience so much 10/10 would reread.
i also love the imagery put throughout the novel and how some things that may seem like "oh, weird things to put in there" end up making a lot more sense later on by the finale like some twisted chekhov's gun. the final climax of this novel made me feel chills considering everything that was developed with the pieces of the puzzle that make up the narrative and victor hoppe's inner workings.
so, er, final words for a very strange and vague review. i'll guess that overall it's like: a terrible experience emotionally but definitely worth it. i'm also definitely interested in stefan brijs' other works since the angel maker made me feel so much Stuff, but i'd have to look for translations because i'm not sure if his other works have been translated... if not i'll have to buff up in dutch to enjoy the books in dutch lmao so until then that'll be a while
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