Het sadistische universum
1964
First Published
3.68
Average Rating
197
Number of Pages
Met Het sadistische universum bevestigde Willem Frederik Hermans zijn reputatie als scheldredenaar nummer één. Briljante essays over Hermans' stokpaardjes Multatuli, Weinreb en Wittgenstein, maar ook verrassende en gemene stukken over pin-up-girls, experimentele romans, de katten van Rome, antipathieke romanpersonages en film. de monoloog van een anglofoob, de monoloog van een paardenliefhebber, de eerste reis naar Spanje en de zwarte humor van de Baron von Münchhausen. Hermans op zijn best!
Avg Rating
3.68
Number of Ratings
155
5 STARS
15%
4 STARS
44%
3 STARS
36%
2 STARS
5%
1 STARS
0%
goodreads
Author
Willem Frederik Hermans
Author · 26 books
Willem Frederik Hermans is one of the greatest post-war Dutch authors. Before devoting his entire life to writing, Hermans had been teaching Physical Geography at the University of Groningen for many years. He had already started writing and publishing in magazines at a young age. His polemic and provocative style led to a court case as early as 1952. His caustic pieces were compiled in Mandarijnen op zwavelzuur (Mandarines in Sulphuric Acid, 1963), which was reprinted with additions a number of times. It is Hermans’s belief that in order to survive people have to create their own reality. It is inevitable that all these experiences of reality will collide. Language is essential to create order out of chaos and plays an important role in this process. In his essays on Wittgenstein, Hermans studied this problem in depth. In his novels and stories Hermans places his characters in a world of certainty for themselves but equivocal for the reader. It is in this field of tension that the intrigue in De tranen der acacia’s (Acacia’s Tears, 1949) and in De donkere kamer van Damocles (The Darkroom of Damocles, 1958) develops. Although stories such as Moedwil en misverstand (Malice and Misunderstanding) and Paranoia have a surrealistic tendency, Hermans’ novels The Darkroom Of Damocles, Nooit meer slapen (Beyond Sleep), Uit talloos veel miljoenen (From Countless Millions) are more realistic or satirical and everything in his rich oeuvre is subordinate to the author’s pessimistic philosophy.
