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While the Gods Were Sleeping (2008)

by Erwin Mortier

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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4872350,082 (3.74)34
While the Gods Were Sleeping is a novel about the magnitude and impact of the First World War, the recollections of which are recorded in the notebooks of the elderly Helena. The young Helena is sent to her uncle's country house before the war, and from here she witnesses scenes of indescribable horror. But it is also where she meets Matthew again, a British Army photographer who she goes on to marry. This is a story not about spectacular events; rather, Mortier is concerned with writing about war, history and the past with great empathy and engagement, and with a mixture of melancholy, qualification and resignation.… (more)
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» See also 34 mentions

Dutch (17)  English (5)  All languages (22)
Showing 5 of 5
Dit, om een woord, of eerder een rauwe keelklank, van m'n moeder, die overigens ook goed bekend is met de geneugten van het geschreven woord - niet dat van Mortier per se - te gebruiken, boek (of moet ik het een prozaïsch werk noemen, een schilderij van taal op een statief van beelden?) is prachtig.

Voilà. Als je alles uit bovenstaande zinsconstructie in één keer lezen tot u kan nemen, ben je klaar voor Godenslaap, want je krijgt pagina na pagina zo'n bijzinnenmaaltijd - 5 gangen of meer - op je bord geserveerd. Geen kouwe pap. Eten op bed.

Waar [b:De spiegelingen|21518313|De spiegelingen|Erwin Mortier|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1395234588s/21518313.jpg|40841648] me werkelijk kon fascineren van cover tot cover, had ik in dit, ouder, werk soms goesting om het tegen de muur te gooien. Maar toen kwam ik plotseling in het onwaarschijnlijk aangrijpende derde deel terecht, dat me verschillende keren bij de keel greep, daar waar de woordencumulus het licht van de betekenis niet te veel verduisterde.

Toch dacht ik nog aan twee sterren, tot de grand finale (met het verhaal van Saïd al Amrani) me helemaal van m'n stoel blies en resoluut nog een sterretje wegkaapte voor alles dat ervoor kwam.

De spiegelroman 'De Spiegelingen' vond ik echt beter, dus als je er maar één wilt lezen, of wilt starten met dit duet, raad ik aan daarmee te beginnen.

Veel leesgenot. Want van je moet echt genieten van lezen om dit werk te appreciëren. ( )
  bbbart | Dec 27, 2020 |
Great book, very well writen. You have to love his style of writing. It's a bit similar to Jose Saramago. The story is great, about the first world war from the point of view of an old lady, lying in bed, remembering all the things she has seen in her younger years during the war. ( )
  mslourens | Dec 27, 2020 |
This work is and isn’t about World War I. Helena, writing journal after journal as an elderly woman cared for by one harsh homecare nurse and one loving homecare nurse, first shows readers what her life has become. Then we see how life was before the war…comfortable, pleasant, and in many ways a mirror image of the nurturing kindness the elderly Helena receives from the kind caregiver.
Not until long into the book does Helena finally turn to the wartime events. This is in part because the visitation of the fighting on her country was so terrible, she has difficulty coming to terms with it even at this late date. But she is driven to do so…not because she believes the journals will leave some lasting legacy; in fact, she tells the caretaker to distribute them at whim, and shows herself to be as unattached to them as falling leaves in the wind.
Really, she is writing for herself. She needs to retrieve from the mud that swallowed so many men dead and alive some understanding of what this monster was and how it changed her and her country. The sweep is epic yet is told from such a close and intimate understanding of one woman’s life that readers cannot help but feel the horror Helena had as a witness.
Then, at the end, we see that Helena’s words have had a broader impact beyond her life. The simple words of her caregiver, relaying her own family’s story of loss, resonates in a few brief pages with everything Helena has needed hundreds of pages to convey through her own efforts.
What shining beauty is in her words.
I was given an ARC (digital) by the publisher to review.
( )
  Laine-Cunningham | Feb 22, 2015 |
This book is about the First World War in Belgium, told by an old woman. She tells about the split in her family, because her father stays in Belgium as the rest of the familiy flies to France. Her brother becomes a soldier. She finds a boy friend who is an English war photographer.
The story is well told, but doesn't seam to head anywhere and the style is somehow difficult. I might enjoy it more a moment when I have more time and patience.

http://boekenwijs.blogspot.com/2010/10/godenslaap.html ( )
  boekenwijs | Oct 29, 2010 |
Mortier kan het prachtig zeggen maar er valt helaas niet veel te vertellen in dit boek. ( )
  HendrikSteyaert | Oct 26, 2010 |
Showing 5 of 5
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» Add other authors (3 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Erwin Mortierprimary authorall editionscalculated
Kuby, ChristianeTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Ik heb altijd gehuiverd voor de daad van het beginnen.
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While the Gods Were Sleeping is a novel about the magnitude and impact of the First World War, the recollections of which are recorded in the notebooks of the elderly Helena. The young Helena is sent to her uncle's country house before the war, and from here she witnesses scenes of indescribable horror. But it is also where she meets Matthew again, a British Army photographer who she goes on to marry. This is a story not about spectacular events; rather, Mortier is concerned with writing about war, history and the past with great empathy and engagement, and with a mixture of melancholy, qualification and resignation.

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