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Kaas

Willem Elsschot

Start date: March 21, 2018

Finish date: April 17, 2018

Discussion: Keuzeboeken

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Sep 15, 2017 Cee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-fiction, literary-fiction, dutch-literature

In high school I had no interest at all in Dutch literature.* It was English books I felt drawn towards - the amazing fantasy novels I discovered in my childhood and their spinoffs such as urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Even English classics were preferable to the literature of my country, as the stories of Austen and Dickens held their own kind of nostalgic magic.

It's only now that I am moving to England, probably for at least three years, that I feel the urge to discover the books that In high school I had no interest at all in Dutch literature.* It was English books I felt drawn towards - the amazing fantasy novels I discovered in my childhood and their spinoffs such as urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Even English classics were preferable to the literature of my country, as the stories of Austen and Dickens held their own kind of nostalgic magic.

It's only now that I am moving to England, probably for at least three years, that I feel the urge to discover the books that have shaped the country I was born in. So far, my only experience with Dutch lit has been through the dreaded reading-list enforced upon reluctant teens. Even the most wonderful occupation can be made dreary by making it mandatory, and unsurprisingly, I didn't even read half of the books I was supposed to.

A few days ago I found Kaas ("Cheese") by Willem Elsschot for a few euro in my favourite second-hand bookshop. The title intrigues: is this a book about cheese? How can cheese be interesting? Unlike my fellow countrypeoples who seem to inhale the yellow flubbetygoop like no tomorrow, I have quite a strong dislike for most cheeses. In my mind, Dutch lit is connected to pretentiousness and obscure writing, and this common object seemed to be antithetical to that.

Kaas, against all my expectations, is perfectly readable. I even have something in common with the main character, who does not like cheese either. Yet, in order to become more important in the world than a lowly clerk, he becomes a merchant of cheese. Frans Laarmans is a proud man and no reliable narrator. Humor is created by the discrepancy between how Laarmans views himself and his situation and what the reader - reading between the lines - knows. It's witty, but at the expense of Laarmans. To my own surprise, I enjoyed this short tragedy of a person that is not likeable but ultimately still gives rise to sympathy (or pity, perhaps).

I find it ironic that emigrating to a different country finally sparked an interest in my national literature. Though perhaps that does make sense. This way I can take a little bit of home with me when I move, even if I wanted nothing to do with these books when I grew up.

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* Willem Elsschot is Belgian, and as such, Kaas might more properly be seen as Flemish literature. It has been part of the Dutch-language canon though, so I hope everyone will forgive me for calling it "Dutch literature". ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Mar 19, 2013 BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: group-reads, belgian-dutch, owned-books, 1001-books

Kaas lag al heel lang ongelezen hier en een group read was voor mij de perfecte aanleiding om het boek(je) eens te pakken. Jaren geleden las ik voor mijn middelbare school Lijmen / Het been, mijn eerste kennismaking met het werk van Willem Elsschot, en nu heb ik dan Kaas gelezen.

Het verhaal van Kaas had voor mij iets tragisch, ook al deed de humor, en soms spot, mij af en toe glimlachen: "Ik probeerde mij zo stil mogelijk uit te kleden, want mijn vrouw sliep allang en ik houd niet van dat gezani ...more

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