English praise for Frank Westerman

Over the past few weeks various British papers have published positive reviews of Ararat, the latest book by Frank Westerman. For example, Iain Finlayson wrote in The Times:

“If any book, so far this year, justifies the value of translation, it is Westerman’s”

Alexander Waugh (Spectator) praised the richness of the book:

‘The result of his (Westerman’s) labours is a short book of stupendous richness and complexity, a cornucopia of jumbled facts (…) held together by a thread of tension as to whether Westerman will find faith halfway up the mountain. (…) The book (a fine translation from the Dutch by Sam Garrett) is unquestionably eccentric, but written with enough knowledge, craft and competence to keep the drowsiest of readers wide awake from first to last.’

Adam LeBor (Literary Review) also extolled the quality of Sam Garrett’s translation:

‘…thought-provoking and beautifully written (…) the book is much more than a travelogue. (…) Sam Garrett’s excellent translation highlights both Westerman’s skilful pacing and love of language. Westerman has achieved his aim - to climb the mountain - and has found, too, an answer of sorts to the question of how science and religion can coexist.’

Finally, The Sunday Times and The Scotsman also lauded Westerman’s book:

‘What separates Ararat from the hundreds of other books that have taken on this subject in the past few years is the poetic, novelistic logic behind the author’s search. (…) It is Westerman’s calm intelligence and freshness of perspective that make his book so appealing.’ - Ed King in The Sunday Times.

‘In this consistently fascinating and elegantly written exploration, he acknowledges that mystery and myth are central to human kind.’ - Marc Lambert in The Scotsman.

Published: August 29, 2008 news | non-fiction