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De sprong
De personages in de verhalen uit De sprong zijn allen op zoek naar een herbergzame plek, naar houvast of zelfverwerkelijking, maar terwijl ze daar naar op weg zijn lijken omstandig-heden of noodlot ervoor te zorgen dat dit doel niet bereikt wordt.
In twee van de monologen gaat het om twee jonge geliefden tijdens de meidagen in Rotterdam, 1940. Cato dwaalt wanhopig door de straten op zoek naar haar Leendert, terwijl Duitse bommen op de stad neerregenen. Ze had een afspraak met haar Leendert, maar deze is niet komen opdagen. Als hij zelf aan het woord komt, begrijpen we waarom.
Een kleine dertig jaar eerder strandt de joodse kleermaker Mendel Bronstein in Rotterdam. Een onbeantwoorde liefde en de toenemende haar jegens de joden doen hem besluiten zijn kans te wagen in de Nieuwe Wereld en de oversteek naar Amerika te maken. Aangekomen op Ellis Island wordt hem echter een enkeltje terug naar Rotterdam verstrekt.
In haar woonhuis in de Weense Auenbruggerstrasse overdenkt Alma Mahler de afgelopen jaren met haar Gustav, de beroemde componist die op dat moment in Essen verblijft, repeterend aan de uitvoering van een nieuwe symfonie. In ruil voor vereeuwiging in zijn muziek heeft zij hem toegestaan kinderen bij haar te verwekken en heeft ze haar eigen muzikale ambities opgegeven. Maar ze wordt alsnog voor het blok gezet als ze twee brieven ontvangt, eentje van Mahler, die haar verordonneert naar Essen te komen, en een van haar geliefde Alex Zemlinsky.
In de laatste monoloog brengt een jonge vrouw, Sara, een avond en een nacht door in haar ouderlijk huis, waar ze het rijk alleen heeft omdat haar ouders op vakantie zijn. Ze heeft een donker jaar achter de rug maar nu ze, op het terrein van de liefde en in haar maatschappelijke leven, net een paar ferme beslissingen heeft genomen, lijkt er een periode van vitale vrolijkheid te zijn aangebroken.
In twee van de monologen gaat het om twee jonge geliefden tijdens de meidagen in Rotterdam, 1940. Cato dwaalt wanhopig door de straten op zoek naar haar Leendert, terwijl Duitse bommen op de stad neerregenen. Ze had een afspraak met haar Leendert, maar deze is niet komen opdagen. Als hij zelf aan het woord komt, begrijpen we waarom.
Een kleine dertig jaar eerder strandt de joodse kleermaker Mendel Bronstein in Rotterdam. Een onbeantwoorde liefde en de toenemende haar jegens de joden doen hem besluiten zijn kans te wagen in de Nieuwe Wereld en de oversteek naar Amerika te maken. Aangekomen op Ellis Island wordt hem echter een enkeltje terug naar Rotterdam verstrekt.
In haar woonhuis in de Weense Auenbruggerstrasse overdenkt Alma Mahler de afgelopen jaren met haar Gustav, de beroemde componist die op dat moment in Essen verblijft, repeterend aan de uitvoering van een nieuwe symfonie. In ruil voor vereeuwiging in zijn muziek heeft zij hem toegestaan kinderen bij haar te verwekken en heeft ze haar eigen muzikale ambities opgegeven. Maar ze wordt alsnog voor het blok gezet als ze twee brieven ontvangt, eentje van Mahler, die haar verordonneert naar Essen te komen, en een van haar geliefde Alex Zemlinsky.
In de laatste monoloog brengt een jonge vrouw, Sara, een avond en een nacht door in haar ouderlijk huis, waar ze het rijk alleen heeft omdat haar ouders op vakantie zijn. Ze heeft een donker jaar achter de rug maar nu ze, op het terrein van de liefde en in haar maatschappelijke leven, net een paar ferme beslissingen heeft genomen, lijkt er een periode van vitale vrolijkheid te zijn aangebroken.
112 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2003
26 people want to read
About the author
Anna Enquist
69 books115 followersAnna Enquist is a pseudonym of the Dutch author and poet Christa Widlund-Broer.
Anna Enquist studied piano at the academy of music in The Hague and psychology at Leiden University. She is the author of the novels The Masterpiece; The Secret, winner of the 1997 Dutch Book of the Year awarded by the public; The Ice Carriers; Counterpoint; Quartet; and the international bestseller The Homecoming, which received the Prix du Livre Corderie Royale-Hermione for its French translation. Anna is also the author of A Leap, a collection of dramatic monologues, as well as numerous poetry collections, including Soldiers’ Songs, for which she was awarded the C. Buddingh’ Prize; A New Goodbye; and Hunting Scenes, winner of the Lucy B. and C.W. van der Hoogt Prize.
Anna Enquist studied piano at the academy of music in The Hague and psychology at Leiden University. She is the author of the novels The Masterpiece; The Secret, winner of the 1997 Dutch Book of the Year awarded by the public; The Ice Carriers; Counterpoint; Quartet; and the international bestseller The Homecoming, which received the Prix du Livre Corderie Royale-Hermione for its French translation. Anna is also the author of A Leap, a collection of dramatic monologues, as well as numerous poetry collections, including Soldiers’ Songs, for which she was awarded the C. Buddingh’ Prize; A New Goodbye; and Hunting Scenes, winner of the Lucy B. and C.W. van der Hoogt Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 1, 2019
5 excellentes nouvelles dont 4 en rapports avec l'une des deux guerres mondiales. J'aime vraiment beaucoup cette auteure.
October 26, 2018
The jacket copy is what inspired me to read this book…that and it was the August selection of my 2018 reading resolution to read twelve books that have been lounging on my bookshelf for years.
The first sentence of the jacket copy is “The characters in the monologues that make up “A Leap” are all looking for a home; for some kind of anchorage or self-realization, but circumstances or fate ensure that their goal remains elusive.”
That sentence really spoke to me soul. Looking for a home…isn’t that what we all want? A home. A place to call ours. A place to feel safe and secure.
There are five monologues in this short book. The first is from Alma Mahler, wife of composer Gustav and takes place in 1906. She is on the verge of a mid-life crisis. She should stay with the man for whom she gave up her ambitions, or have an affair with a old lover who has come back into her life.
The second monologue, is from a Jewish dressmaker, Mendel Bronstien, who leaves Rotterdam for America in 1912, but the trip is unexpectedly hard.
In 1940, Cato and Leendert, who also live in Rotterdam, are young lover trying to avoid the falling bombs as Europe rushes into WWII.
“The Doctor” also takes place in 1940s Rotterdam, and begins with a chilling sentence: “I should have killed him.” As a doctor, he must choose between his Hippocratic oath and the loathing he feels for the invading armies.
Finally, there is “…And I am Sara.” It’s the tale of a woman spending a night in her parents’ home while they are away, and how safe and comforted she feels.
I had a little bit of a tough time getting into this collection, mainly because I read Alma’s thought without speaking them aloud. I felt a tad silly reading aloud to myself, but I believe that is how these words should be read.
When I finished each section, the story did not feel complete, I wanted more, which is why “A Leap” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.
The first sentence of the jacket copy is “The characters in the monologues that make up “A Leap” are all looking for a home; for some kind of anchorage or self-realization, but circumstances or fate ensure that their goal remains elusive.”
That sentence really spoke to me soul. Looking for a home…isn’t that what we all want? A home. A place to call ours. A place to feel safe and secure.
There are five monologues in this short book. The first is from Alma Mahler, wife of composer Gustav and takes place in 1906. She is on the verge of a mid-life crisis. She should stay with the man for whom she gave up her ambitions, or have an affair with a old lover who has come back into her life.
The second monologue, is from a Jewish dressmaker, Mendel Bronstien, who leaves Rotterdam for America in 1912, but the trip is unexpectedly hard.
In 1940, Cato and Leendert, who also live in Rotterdam, are young lover trying to avoid the falling bombs as Europe rushes into WWII.
“The Doctor” also takes place in 1940s Rotterdam, and begins with a chilling sentence: “I should have killed him.” As a doctor, he must choose between his Hippocratic oath and the loathing he feels for the invading armies.
Finally, there is “…And I am Sara.” It’s the tale of a woman spending a night in her parents’ home while they are away, and how safe and comforted she feels.
I had a little bit of a tough time getting into this collection, mainly because I read Alma’s thought without speaking them aloud. I felt a tad silly reading aloud to myself, but I believe that is how these words should be read.
When I finished each section, the story did not feel complete, I wanted more, which is why “A Leap” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.
May 27, 2017
(Heter "Språnget" på svenska)
March 7, 2022
This short book is made up of six monologues. Overall they are sad, even tragic stories.[return][return]The first one, Alma, was commissioned by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Gergiev Festival and its performance preceded a performance of Gustav Mahler s Sixth Symphony. I liked the fact that it s based on historical facts taken from letters and diaries. Alma was Gustav s wife and she reflects on her life, having given up her own music to support him. It seems he forced her to do so and she is at once repelled and intoxicated by him, but she is torn between her love for him and Alex, a former lover. This is my favourite of the monologues.
The second story, Mendel Bronstein, shocked me. It s about a Jewish tailor who decides to leave Rotterdam in 1912 to make a new life in America. He is desperate not to forget his own language, with disastrous consequences. This story actually made me squirm.
Cato and Leendert, form the interlinked monologues three and four. Set again in Rotterdam in the spring of 1940 they are a pair of young lovers. Cato first waits in the kitchen for Leendert as the bombs drop on the city and then goes out to search for him as the Germans take control. Meanwhile Leendert is still working at the zoo and ordered to kill the dangerous animals, including his favourite lion, Alexander. I thought this was a touching story full of pathos. It was also based on historical sources and together with Mendel Bronstein was written for the production of Lazarus as part of Rotterdam Cultural Capital of Europe in 2001.
The Doctor is a very short monologue also set in Rotterdam during World War II from a doctor who saves the life of a wounded German general. He wonders if he has done the right thing. This was commissioned by the Bonheur theater company in 2005 for the commemoration of the bombing of Rotterdam in 1940.[
The final monologue is & and I am Sara. Sara is alone in her parents house. She is twenty seven and so far her life has not turned out how she wanted. So much has gone wrong, but now it seems life is set to improve but then disaster overtakes her.
In all these stories fate or circumstances take control, no matter how the characters have struggled in their lives. Anna Enquist is a musician, and a pyschoanalyst as well as a poet and novelist. Her writing is clear bringing the people and places to life. I particularly liked the stage directions in first and last monologues and the insights into the characters thoughts.
The second story, Mendel Bronstein, shocked me. It s about a Jewish tailor who decides to leave Rotterdam in 1912 to make a new life in America. He is desperate not to forget his own language, with disastrous consequences. This story actually made me squirm.
Cato and Leendert, form the interlinked monologues three and four. Set again in Rotterdam in the spring of 1940 they are a pair of young lovers. Cato first waits in the kitchen for Leendert as the bombs drop on the city and then goes out to search for him as the Germans take control. Meanwhile Leendert is still working at the zoo and ordered to kill the dangerous animals, including his favourite lion, Alexander. I thought this was a touching story full of pathos. It was also based on historical sources and together with Mendel Bronstein was written for the production of Lazarus as part of Rotterdam Cultural Capital of Europe in 2001.
The Doctor is a very short monologue also set in Rotterdam during World War II from a doctor who saves the life of a wounded German general. He wonders if he has done the right thing. This was commissioned by the Bonheur theater company in 2005 for the commemoration of the bombing of Rotterdam in 1940.[
The final monologue is & and I am Sara. Sara is alone in her parents house. She is twenty seven and so far her life has not turned out how she wanted. So much has gone wrong, but now it seems life is set to improve but then disaster overtakes her.
In all these stories fate or circumstances take control, no matter how the characters have struggled in their lives. Anna Enquist is a musician, and a pyschoanalyst as well as a poet and novelist. Her writing is clear bringing the people and places to life. I particularly liked the stage directions in first and last monologues and the insights into the characters thoughts.
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October 5, 2010- Tweets -
Geboorte, jeugd, volwassen, dood.
Altijd hetzelfde, altijd anders.
Keuzes. Kiezen, koos, gekozen. Jouw eigen weg.
Kronkel in de weg, verkeerde beslissing. Gebeurd iedereen. Buig hem recht.
Alma, Cato, Leendert, Mendel, Sara. Allemaal een eigen weg, allemaal anders.
En toch allemaal dezelfde weg, richting hun einde. Liefde, oorlog, werk, geluk en trouw lijdt ze.
Net als bij jou, bij mij, bij iedereen. Keuzes moet je maken, van je fouten moet je leren. Het is aan jezelf er een leuke weg van te maken.
Geboorte, jeugd, volwassen, dood.
Altijd hetzelfde, altijd anders.
Keuzes. Kiezen, koos, gekozen. Jouw eigen weg.
Kronkel in de weg, verkeerde beslissing. Gebeurd iedereen. Buig hem recht.
Alma, Cato, Leendert, Mendel, Sara. Allemaal een eigen weg, allemaal anders.
En toch allemaal dezelfde weg, richting hun einde. Liefde, oorlog, werk, geluk en trouw lijdt ze.
Net als bij jou, bij mij, bij iedereen. Keuzes moet je maken, van je fouten moet je leren. Het is aan jezelf er een leuke weg van te maken.
January 31, 2011
"The monologues in this volume are beautiful, stark and at times almost too painful to read. The first, 'Alma', portrays the dissatisfaction of Alma Mahler who sacrificed her own interests to marriage and children. I found this piece interesting, but thematically familiar; unfortunately, the story of talented women overshadowed by famous spouses is extremely common. Thus, I was interested but a little unprepared for the rest of the volume which I found infinitely more challenging."
April 11, 2009
A worthy 'quick read' that's especially suited to those who enjoy the monologic form. The resonance and theme of some of the monologues in this collection make them slightly more suited to the female reader, but don't let that put off any male readers - this is ideal fodder for anyone wishing to sample Enquist's exquisite literary skills.
July 14, 2011
Not bad, even though very dramatic and tragic, as well as very psychological, in the sense that the monologues are all about how a human being feels in certain situations. "...and I am Sara" was very interesting. Very recognizable.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews