Hoffman's hunger

In Hoffman's Hunger a novel published by The Toby Press in 2007, Leon de Winter describes the consequences of faulty reasoning determined by persistent false assumptions for several interesting characters. The translation by Arnold and Erica Pomerans is excellent allowing the reader to experience a hint of Dutch syntax and semantics that helps the reader to understand the perceptions and emotions of the characters. In the novel, Baruch Spinoza's philosophical arguments set the stage for the reader to spot errors of logic and anticipate outcomes of the plot. The exciting story forces the reader to question what the characters actually want, and puzzle over their real desires.

I had immediate empathy with every major player in the novel, show more but most of all with Felix Hoffman. There does not seem to be anything overtly likable about Felix but he is fascinating. Hoffman and the other characters face physical and emotional pain caused by poor decisions in the past. Most try to reduce the pain that affects them and their loved ones with inappropriately behaviors (eating, drinking, adultery, drugs). Only Felix makes serious attempts to understand his past actions, to reach insight. Spinoza's writing teaches Hoffman that free will does not allow him to escape the past or the determinism of his nature. It can only show him why he acted as he did and what desires persist in the present. Attempting to satisfy his insatiable appetite for food and drink does not help, but reading Spinoza's work does. As a result, he discovers that simply reminiscing during sleepless nights provides no answers. He has to learn to think rationally about his past and present. He has to abandon his habitual irrational cynicism and indifference in order to understand the truth about his own motivation.

This is an outstanding novel and I look forward to reading more of de Winter's work. His realistic writing style and detailed character development remind me of the work of Robert Musil, the 20th Century Austrian novelist. There are interesting parallels between Musil's character Ulrich, a mathematician, in The Man Without Qualities (1952, 1978) and Felix Hoffman a diplomat in de Winter's novel. Both characters are charismatic but unsatisfied with their career roles and personal relationships. Both are attempting to find some truths in their lives without falling back on ready-made conclusions based on religious faith. How can we ever understand the relative importance of ideas, actions, and emotions in individual lives when there is no meaningful starting point? Both Ulrich and Felix discover the origin of their own motivation in a concept that is both rational and irrational, that includes reality and imagination, hedonism and altruism. show less

It is always a bonus to read a book in translation from another culture, and I am always delighted when they cross my path. Hoffman's Hunger was written in Dutch and was also a best-seller in German. For example, English-speaking writers seem to write freely about non-English characters, but it feels funny to read an American character sketched by a Dutch writer. That is one sort of insight that can be gained from reading literature in translation.

Another foreign-feeling emphasis comes in the concentration in this book on toilet activities. Granted a story about physical hunger standing in for emotional hunger would generate a certain amount of digestion-talk, but to me it feels like conversations I have with Italian acquaintances, in show more which I have to give up my Anglo bodily-functions reserve.

Then there is the thriller aspect - not only foreign characters, but foreign characters in countries foreign to them. Like a taking a little trip!

It took me a long time to get around to reading this book, but I guess I was ready to really enjoy it when I got to it. Now my mission is to figure out which friends to lend it to, or how to recommend it. Let's see - a great book for Europhile-traveller/foodies, a quick read and not challenging (except for the digestive parts) so good for vacation reading, but for readers, OK so...my mom, maybe a couple of my best friends from high school...

I would definitely be glad to encounter another of Leon de Winter's books. No better praise than that. show less

A much needed respite from books about women and their food issues, Hoffman's Hunger tells a story of men who crave food and utilize it for more than just physical sustenance. The characters are very well developed - all deeply flawed and in different places along a continuum of self-awareness, but the plot was very slow to get going and plodded tediously until the last third of the book.

Echt een tegenvaller, dit boek. De fragmenten waarin de Nederlandse diplomaat Hoffman centraal staat, zijn best interessant; vooral zijn worsteling met de dood van zijn twee dochters is mooi uitgewerkt, al vind ik de gedetailleerde schijt- en kots scènes er toch wel over. Maar de band met zijn lectuur van de 17de eeuwse filosoof Spinoza is er letterlijk met de haren bijgesleept. En de hele intrige over de ontvoering van een Amerikaans geheim agent in Praag overstijgt nauwelijks het niveau van een ordinaire spionageroman. Alleen het feit dat het verhaal zich afspeelt tegen de achtergrond van de val van het Ijzeren Gordijn in 1989 geeft wat extra pigment aan dit (mislukt) boek.

Hoffman est un diplomate néerlandais qui occupe depuis peu le poste d'ambassadeur à Prague. Cet homme se suicide à petit feu en ingérant de la nourriture et de l'alcool. Il s'adonne à ce rituel destructeur la nuit, durant ses longues insomnies. Il ne dort quasiment plus depuis bien longtemps. En fait, depuis que la vie, après une enfance difficile décapitée par la guerre, lui a joué des tours encore plus cruels. Depuis peu, ses nuits sont devenues plus supportables, depuis la découverte dans le grenier de son logement de fonction, d'un volume de Spinoza. Mais, ce qu'il ne sait pas encore, c'est qu'il risque bien d'être impliqué dans une affaire d'espionnage.

Il avala une goulée de vin pour retrouver son calme mais l'alcool

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attisa encore les flammes sur lesquelles son âme rôtissait.

J'attendais beaucoup de ce roman. Le début du livre ne pas déçu, les descriptions de ce processus boulimique, de la souffrance d'Hoffman sont vraiment très réussies. Par contre, il est difficile de percevoir le lien avec l'intrigue d'espionnage qui est menée en parallèle. Cette dichotomie donne l'impression que ces deux histoires sont comme l'huile et l'eau, elles ne parviennent pas à se mélanger. Elles ont un caractère complètement différent, la première joue sur la corde sensible, la deuxième est beaucoup plus froide et terre à terre et semble parfois même avoir été ajoutée artificiellement au récit. Dommage car ce livre est souvent très profond et bien écrit — les descriptions des symptômes physiques extrêmement crues sont percutantes. Les ingrédients étaient là pour faire de ce roman un très bon livre mais je n'ai malheureusement pas été convaincu. http://www.aubonroman.com/2011/12/la-faim-de-hoffman-par-leon-de-winter.html show less

Ik ben heel blij dat ik dit boek heb gelezen. Het was iets helemaal anders dan ik had verwacht. (Om de een of andere reden had ik een oorlogsverhaal verwacht.) Het is een spionageverhaal dat eigenlijk bijna niet over spionage gaat. Er gebeurt zelfs bijna niets tot je over de helft van het boek zit. Nu ja, niets is ook niet echt waar. Je leert stap voor stap de drie belangrijkste personages kennen, waarvan Hoffman de belangrijkste is. (Zoals de titel doet vermoeden.) Je groeit mee met Hoffman en ontdekt rustigaan het miezerige bestaan dat hij zijn leven noemt, aan de hand van het werk van de filosoof Spinoza. Een heel tragische figuur die Hoffman.