The Roar of Morning

This is a little novel that isn't especially about history or geopolitics or any of the big external topics, and it doesn't really even go in for extended narrative, but has everything to do with the pleasure of finding the right words and images to communicate the way the author experiences the world. De morgen loeit weer aan appeared more than twenty years after Marugg's previous novel, and by all accounts it would have been even longer if a friend hadn't taken the initiative of stealing the manuscript and taking it off to be typed against his will. It's a largely autobiographical account of a reclusive elderly man living alone with his four dogs in a quiet corner of the island. He spends a lot of time sitting on his stoep enjoying show more the sounds and smells of the tropical night in the company of "Dutch and Scottish barley products". Using closely-observed descriptions of real experiences (mostly from childhood) and a couple of allegorical dream sequences as illustrations, he tells us about the rewards of looking in detail at the world of nature, and through that leads us into a discussion of death and evil as he sees them from an atheist/humanist perspective.

Whilst it's not exactly a cheerful book, I found myself drawn in by Marugg's very particular narrative voice, with its odd mixture of ironic detachment and close involvement with the subject in hand. I'm glad I read it, and I think it is likely to be a book I come back to in the future. show less

Tip Marugg was a writer who lived in the Antillean Islands. He wrote only three novels, of which De morgen loeit weer aan (1988) was the last, published between 1957 en 1988. The novel is not so much narrative, but rather an evocation of life on a Carribean island, with a style and depth that no other Dutch writer who has not grown up in that region could ever achieve.

Rich descriptions of people, nature create a vivid portrait of the wilderness on the island.

Tip Marrugg lived on Curaçao off the coast of Venezuela, and this short book gives a good dreamy impression of the geology, mix of cultures, traditions and environment of the island. This is not particularly linked well with any narrative, as the narrator has flashbacks to his youth, but leaves the reader with an impression of the interconnectedness of the people and stories of the region. Good in patches, but a little loose ins tructure for my liking.

Een van de beste boeken uit de Nederlandse literatuur. Unieke stem en stijl. Marugg's zeer kleine oeuvre is minstens zo bijzonder als dat van Nescio.