Description

In a rich tapestry of styles, fantasy, and philosophical speculations, Marcel Möring leads us on a voyage through the dark heart of the twentieth century and through a vivid exploration of loss and guilt. Loosely based on Dante's Inferno, this ambitious and enthralling novel—an in-depth study of Europeans' angst and fear after the Holocaust—confirms Möring's place among "the ranks of the most important European writers of his generation" (Die Welt).

1945. Jacob Noah emerges from hiding to discover that his family has perished under the Nazis. Rebuilding his life, Noah becomes a shoemaker in the Dutch town of Assen. Over the years, he patiently expands his business and eventually becomes the city's most influential entrepreneur. Yet success cannot alleviate his loneliness and suffering nor the tragedy of history.

Nearly forty years later, this dispirited, loveless man veers off the road in a tragic accident. But instead of entering death's abyss, Noah finds himself on a journey through his soul. Guided by a peddler, he descends into the town's smoky center, a manmade hell reminiscent of Dante's Inferno. But it is not until he encounters a young man named Marcus Kolpa, a respected intellectual struggling with the implications of his Jewish identity and the shared history of his people, that Noah is able to truly understand the meaning of his own life and the tragedies he has experienced.

About the author(s)

Marcel Möring is the bestselling author of Mendel, The Great Longing, In Babylon, and The Dream Room. Widely considered the Netherlands' leading contemporary writer, he lives in Rotterdam with his wife and children.

Reviews

“[T]here’s poetry, fantasy, grim horror. Demanding and magnificent.” — London Times

“A haunted, erotic tale. . . . A translation of Faulkner’s Southern Gothic into Dutch.” — The Seattle Times-Post Intelligencer

“Graceful. . . beautifully written.” — Publishers Weekly

“Enigmatic…this deftly woven story, subtly but beutifully written, rewards with its polished, discreet exploration of a family still suffering from the wounds of a conflict acted out on the body and the spirit.” — Publishers Weekly

“With this novel, Moring has finally joined the ranks of the most important European writers of his generation.” — Die Welt

“Mysterious, magical and full of suspense, one of the mostsingular and extraordinary reading experiences I have ever had.” — NRC Handel

“Ingenious storytelling..resonant. . . entertaining. . . . Marcel Moring and his protaganist Nathan are such skillful and prolific storytellers that fact, fiction, and fairy tale blur together, pleasurably . . . a splendidly accomplished novel.” — The Boston Globe

“A moving and convincing testimony to the continuing tension between the desire for assimilation and the awareness of seperateness Marcel Moring is beyond doubt one of the most imaginative and perceptive novelists writing today. — The Times Literary Supplement

“A grand, engrossing novel...Moring’s prose is fluid and erudite, and the transitions between the many eras masterfully achieved...As historically instructive as it is suspenseful, this is an impressivem accomplished tale of a perennially uprooted family and its last remaining members seeking their home in an inhospitable world.” — Publishers Weekly

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