J. Bernlef
The Red Dream (De rode droom)
Two amusing losers in times of revolution
De rode droom (The Red Dream) is a playful, unconventional novel about two older men who are engrossed in their dream of a new utopia. Spare-time philosophers Krap and Kowalski live in K, a city where they plan and develop theories to advance society. When their country Homeland is taken over by the regime of Neighbouring Country, many of their certainties are shattered and both lose their jobs – one as attendant at the Lift Museum, the other as a lavatory-paper distributor.
Everything was better in the past, they both believe. The old regime was Communist, but in the new enlightened dictatorship, the free market reigns supreme and the poor become poorer and the rich become richer. Krap and Kowalski’s situation deteriorates so much so that they decide to leave and travel to Amsterdam, where prosperity is in sharp contrast to the world they have left behind. Initially, because they are foreigners, they cannot find work, but then they are offered to travel to a luxurious resort in Tunisia as inspectors for a travel agency. The isolation of the resort reminds the reader what the former communist utopias were like – isolated, as if the world around them wasn’t there.
The story of the two gentlemen is rich in literary references, from Kafka to Orwell, from Voltaire (Candide) to Flaubert (Bouvard et Pécuchet). Bernlef enjoys poking fun at reality: the novel is full of witty dialogue and playful asides. Another of the novel’s leitmotifs is Kowalski’s unrequited love for Krap’s ex-wife, to whom he writes poems. Krap himself propagates free love. The Red Dream veers from parody to parable, from picaresque novel to political statement. And, as much is left to the reader’s imagination, it is a novel which grips the attention.
Publisher
Querido
Singel 262
NL - 1016 AC Amsterdam
TEL. +31 20 551 12 62
FAX +31 20 639 19 68
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.querido.nl
Publishing details
De rode droom (2009, 236 pp)
Biography
Bernlef (b. 1937), who debuted in 1960, has produced an extensive body of work including poems, short stories, novels and essays. He translated the Scandinavian poets Lars Gustafson and Tomas Tranströmer into Dutch and was editor of the literary periodicals Barbarber and Raster. The best known of his many novels are Out of Mind (Hersenschimmen, 1984, which was made into a feature film and translated into many languages) and Publiek geheim (Public Secret, AKO Literature Prize 1987). He has received many prizes, including the PC Hooft Prize and the Constantijn Huygens Prize. His recent successful novels are Boy (2000, nominated for the Libris Literature Prize) and Buiten is het maandag (Outside It’s Monday, 2003, nominated for the Libris and AKO Literature Prize). In 2008, Bernlef was the author of the annual Book Week present, entitled De pianoman (The Piano Man), a novella, nearly a million copies being given away free.
Website: www.bernlef.net
Quotes
Bernlef’s novel gives new expression to the desire for a red utopia. A portrait of two amusing losers in times of revolution.
NRC Handelsblad