The Laws
1991
First Published
3.58
Average Rating
210
Number of Pages
In Dutch writer Palmen's thought-provoking debut, a discourse driven more by ideas than plot, a young philosophy student defines herself through her interactions with established, intellectual men. Over a period of seven years, Amsterdam-based narrator Marie Deniet deliberately seeks out seven male companions, most of whom are considerably older than her 20-something years. Each contributes to her worldview, and at one point she even calls her dalliances "field-work''; tellingly, although she admires her conquests' minds, she never fails to expose and analyze their flaws. Marie makes a plausible case for her own behavior: she desires powerful men because she believes they, not women, control "the laws'' (art, science, etc.). The question remains whether readers will blithely accept this conclusion or see it as a psychological stumbling block common in otherwise capable women. The latter is suggested—after Marie seduces numerous men, writes a highly praised (though, she admits, derivative) thesis and boldly claims an artist as her true love, she breaks down and goes to the seventh and last man, a psychiatrist. However, women may still feel a justifiable aversion to her admissions of neediness and longing for male approval; they may also question the suitability of a male translator for this necessarily female voice.
Avg Rating
3.58
Number of Ratings
5,295
5 STARS
19%
4 STARS
37%
3 STARS
30%
2 STARS
11%
1 STARS
3%
goodreads
Author
Connie Palmen
Author · 7 books
Connie Palmen (Aldegonda Petronella Huberta Maria Palmen) is a Dutch author. She was born on November 25, 1955 in Sint Odiliënberg. Palmen debuted with the novel De wetten (1990), published in the USA as The Laws (1993), translated by Richard Huijing. The Laws was shortlisted for the 1996 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Her second novel was De vriendschap (1995), published in the USA as The Friendship (2000), translated by Ina Rilke. Palmen had a relationship with Ischa Meijer in the years preceding his death in 1995. From 1999 on she lived with D66 politician Hans van Mierlo, and the couple married on 11 November 2009 until his death on 11 March 2010.
