Das Buch von allen Dingen (original 2004; edition 2011)

Oh my ... what a breathless little story. Heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. I need to read this one again a few times. I don't want to say anything about it for fear of spoiling it for someone. It's a quick read - just find it at your library and read it. ( )

This is a gorgeous book, but I can't imagine who the kid audience would be. It's like A Monster Calls, if A Monster Calls were written from the perspective of an adult looking back on his childhood, without that authentic kid voice. I think it is a book for adults to read, particularly those who might still be processing childhood abuse. ( )

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1869271.html

It's quite a fascinating package, and very short at only 100 pages; Kuijer gives a very strong sense of a repressed Dutch society of the early 1950s, still coming to terms with the recent war and occupation (Thomas, the central character, is 9 so would have been born in 1942), combined with some startling magical realism as Thomas and the slightly sorcerous neighbour call down the plagues of Egypt on his wife-beating father. The line that sticks with me is from quite near the beginning (repeated again at the end) when Thomas first talks with the witch next door:

“Wat wil je later worden eigenlijk?” vroeg ze.
“Gelukkig”, zei Thomas. “Ik word later gelukkig.”

(“What do you want to be when you are older?” she asked.
“Happy”, said Thomas. “I want to be happy.”)

Anyway, definitely impressive enough for me to look out for more of Kuijer's work. ( )

This short book is a brutally honest work of young adult literature set in Amsterdam a few years after the liberation and end of World War II. Thomas only wishes to be happy but has to deal with his fundamentalist and abusive father. The book is colored by magical realism and a touch of surrealism as Thomas is aided by witches, calls down the plagues of Egypt, and converses with a lonely Jesus. A powerful and touching book that touches on a lot of issues: childhood, family, religion, community, and kindness. ( )

A good friend brought this book when we met for breakfast this morning. I sat down to read it this afternoon and just finished it - it is definitely a "read in one sitting" kind of story. I loved the uniqueness of the story and the writing - highly recommend ( )