There are, unfortunately, no end of books written in foreign languages that, while deserving, haven't yet been translated into English, but some do stand out more than others: the case of Dutch great Gerard Reve's 1947 classic, De Avonden -- widely acclaimed as one of the greatest post-war Dutch novels -- has been a particularly baffling one.
Reve -- one of the four leading Dutch-writing post-war authors, along with Harry Mulisch, Hugo Claus (e.g. The Sorrow of Belgium), and Willem Frederik Hermans (e.g. Beyond Sleep) -- is the least-translated-into-English of the quartet -- despite even having written one of his books in English (The Acrobat).
Well, finally someone is getting around to at least translating this one: Pushkin Press has signed it up, with Sam Garrett doing the translation.
In the Netherlands, this is big news: Eerste Engelse vertaling 'De Avonden' op komst they excitedly report. In the UK/US media ... well, maybe word hasn't gotten around yet.
It is a big deal -- look forward to it. Meanwhile, see, for example, the Dutch Foundation for Literature information page about the book.
Well, finally someone is getting around to at least translating this one: Pushkin Press has signed it up, with Sam Garrett doing the translation.
In the Netherlands, this is big news: Eerste Engelse vertaling 'De Avonden' op komst they excitedly report. In the UK/US media ... well, maybe word hasn't gotten around yet.
It is a big deal -- look forward to it. Meanwhile, see, for example, the Dutch Foundation for Literature information page about the book.