Stefan Hertmans Livres

"Forgetting is a strange power, because it makes memory possible. That is why all architecture from the past is something like the music of space, which surrounds us and sends us images that we have constantly to interpret." In Intercities, Stefan Hertmans thinks about what constitutes identity in present-day Europe. Looking at people and cities from the periphery, he tries to discover an "archaeology of streets and faces" which could bring him closer to himself. Set in peripheral cities such as Trieste, Marseille, Dresden and Bratislava, and in major ones like Vienna and Amsterdam, Intercities is about the feeling of being abroad, of losing part of one's self in order to gain a richer life. Mingling travel stories with philosophical reflections, Hertmans's poetic text proves the sixteenth-century observation that every journey is a "voyage around your own chamber". His book is a personal statement about living in Europe today which looks beyond the surface to the heart of contemporary urban existence.

Longlisted for the International Man Booker Prize A New York Times Top 10 Best Book of the Year An Economist Best Book of the Year Longlisted for the Best Translated Book Award The story of Urbain Martien lies con­tained in two notebooks he left behind when he died. In War and Turpentine, his grandson, a writer, retells his grandfather’s story, the notebooks providing a key to the locked chambers of Urbain’s memory. But who is he, really? There is Urbain the child of a lowly church painter; Urbain the young man, who narrowly escapes death in an iron foundry; Urbain the soldier; and Urbain the man, married to his true love's sister, haunted by the war and his interrupted dreams of life as an artist. Wrestling with this tale, the grandson straddles past and present, searching for a way to understand his own part in both. As artfully rendered as a Renais­sance fresco, War and Turpentine paints an ex­traordinary portrait of a man, re­vealing how a single life can echo through the ages.

The dazzling new novel by Stefan Hertmans, author of the modern classic War and Turpentine. 'Magnificent' Philippe Sands 'Powerful and humane' Observer 'An utterly masterly book' Jonathan Coe In 1979, Stefan Hertmans fell in love with a dilapidated old house in Ghent, Belgium, which he restored to become his peaceful sanctuary. Now, all these years later, he learns that a bust of Hitler once sat on the mantelpiece, and a war criminal and his family relaxed in its rooms. This shocking discovery sends Hertmans off to the archives, to uncover the secrets of the house and to reimagine this man's life and expose the atrocities he's responsible for. We see Willem Verhulst as a weak, narcissistic man who climbed high in the ranks of the SS; a fascinating case study for the cruel and perverse mentality of the Nazis. The Ascent portrays the deep tragedy of Flemish collaboration during the Second World War, as Hertmans masterfully brings history and the house to life, imagining individual lives to tell the greater European story. Translated from the Dutch by David McKay

Haunted by the past of his former home, Stefan Hertmans embarks on a journey to uncover the story of its previous owner, a former SS officer. His obsession begins in 1979 when he discovers a memoir by the owner's son, revealing dark family secrets. Through archives, interviews, and personal documents, Hertmans explores the intertwined lives within the house, highlighting a marital drama and connections to significant cultural and political figures in Flanders. This narrative masterfully blends fiction and nonfiction, offering a profound reflection on history and memory.

A brilliant reconstruction of an incredible journey across medieval Europe to Egypt, and an untold story of forbidden love. In the small village in Provence where Stefan Hertmans has made his home, people have long spoken of an ancient pogrom and hidden treasure. Then, at the end of the nineteenth century, an extraordinary collection of Jewish documents was found in a synagogue in Cairo. Hertmans has based The Convert on these historical sources, tracing the life of a young Christian noblewoman who abandoned everything for the love of a rabbi's son. In this startlingly contemporary novel, Hertmans follows in her footsteps as the lovers flee through France together, pursued by crusading knights, and recounts her dazzling journey full of love and hardship, courage and hate, as she journeys on towards Jerusalem alone. The Convert brings the chaos of the Middle Ages to life with boundless imagination and stylistic ingenuity, portraying the tragic love story of a woman in exile and a world in flux.

Miłość w czasach terroryzmu i paranoi.John De Vuyst jest redaktorem w wydawnictwie. Szczęśliwie się ożenił z piękną i inteligentną Margą. Pewnego dnia jego spokojne życie gwałtownie się kończy, gdy dostaje dwa tajemnicze listy w języku, kt�ry jest mu obcy.Niecałe dwadzieścia cztery godziny p�źniej wielka bomba wybucha na drugim piętrze Instytutu Świata Arabskiego w Paryżu, a wkr�tce potem dochodzi do potężnej eksplozji w bazylice Świętego Piotra w Rzymie.

Aus dem Niederländ. von Kötz, Kathrin Roman 205 S.

Was wissen wir über die Zeit, in der wir leben? Eins ist sicher: Wir spüren, dass die Dinge sich verändern. In 20 kurzen, klarsichtigen Essays wagt Stefan Hertmans einen Versuch, den großen gesellschaftlichen Verschiebungen der Gegenwart auf den Zahn zu fühlen. Mutig und differenziert greift er in aktuelle Debatten ein und liefert dringend gebotene und erhellende Zeitdiagnosen zu Themen wie Klimakrise, Identitätspolitik, Demokratie, Migration und technologischem Wandel.