This is my first Gerbrand Bakker. I’ve been aware of a good deal of interest and acclaim around his books for a while but somehow hadn’t got around to him. With its title and glorious blue-skied cover promising summer it seemed appropriate to pick up his new novel on one of the several miserably cold, wet and windy days that began our own June in the UK. It’s set largely on a Saturday in a small Dutch village but at its centre is Queen Julianna’s visit on June 17th 1969 nearly forty years before, a day of celebration which turned into tragedy.
It opens with the Queen reflecting on the many places she’s visited, the inappropriateness of a shrimp buffet at 10 a.m. and her irritation with the civil servant detailed to look after her not to mention the artist constantly sketching her in preparation for sculpting a bust. Just as she’s about to leave, ceremonial duty discharged, a young woman arrives clutching her two-year-old daughter. The Queen greets her, lightly touching the child’s cheek. Later that day an accident will leave the little girl’s family bereft. The rest of Bakker’s novel follows another sweltering June day largely through the Kaan family, beginning with Anna, the two-year-old’s mother – now a grandmother – who has regularly taken herself off to the straw loft on the rundown family farm since 1969, ignoring all attempts to talk her down. The latest trigger is her golden wedding anniversary celebration, a family trip to the zoo which proved to be far from an unalloyed joy.
There are no fancy descriptive passages littered with similes and metaphors in Bakker’s writing: it’s clean and plain but richly evocative for all that. His narrative shifts smoothly from character to character, unfolding events through internal monologues filled with memories interwoven with prosaic observations on family life and the state of the farm, the most effective of which is five-year-old Dieke’s with her questions teasing out what happened to her aunt. Small details slip in through these different points of view coalescing into a picture of that other June day. There’s a great deal of quiet humour underlying the heartache – the poor old dog is thrown into the ditch by just about every member of the family to cool him down, each of them thinking that they’re the only one who’s done it, while the Queen reflects ’I am sixty years old… …For more that twenty years I have been sitting in my official capacity on lavatories like this. How long can anyone bear it?’ How long indeed! I gather from Twitter that June’s reception has not been entirely positive but as it’s my first Bakker I’ve nothing to compare it with: suffice to say it won’t be my last. Compliments to the translator, too – my bet is that it’s harder to translate plain and – apparently – simple prose while retaining its subtlety than it is to produce a flowery interpretation but David Colmer pulls it off beautifully.
Difficult to get a feel for a book that looks very arid from its cover, then a little fantasty-like as it reminds me of Alice’s harsh encounter with the Queen on the croquet lawn and then a rural story. Intriguing crossing of time and story.
Sadly, the jpeg doesn’t do justice to the actual jacket which has a much deeper blue sky. The sections with the queen are quite short. It’s mostly about the repercussions of what happened to the family that day – all very neatly handled.
I love the cover! Can’t wait to read this as I’ve loved his two other books. I’d particularly recommend The Detour, Susan!
The cover’s even better in reality – lovely cerulean blue, as you’ll see soon. Thanks for the recommendation.
I’m glad you enjoyed this one, Susan. As you say, Bakker’s prose is pared back but very subtle, too. I second Claire’s recommendation of his others, especially The Detour…something about the main character (Emilie) got right under my skin.
Opinion on The Detour seems to be pretty solid so I think that be my next Bakker. Pared back prose is right up my street – I’m only surprised that it’s take me so long to get around to him.
I haven’t read this or The Detour, but did enjoy The Twin so I hope to read the others. I love that cover.
Gorgeous, isn’t it, and even better on the actual book. Both The Detour and The Twin are on my list, now.
The Twin! That’s the one I remember lots of people in the blogworld reading. I’m intrigued by Bakker, but might start somewhere else in his work (though just at the moment I have a lot on my reading plate. Actually, why am I pretending it’s just now that I have too many books???!).
Ha! The age-old problem… Lots of people have been pointing me at The Detour today so I think that will be my next Bakker stop.
I hadn’t realised Bakker had a new book published; I loved The Detour and The Twin so I can’t wait to read this. If you enjoyed this one Susan, I’d highly recommend both of those novels. The prose is sparse but effective and, like you say with this novel, the translation is excellent.
I agree, Gemma, writing is so much more effective if it’s stripped of all that over-elaborate ornamentation that some writers seem to go in for. It’s good to hear so much appreciation for an author’s work in translation.
Great! Another Novel by Bakker. Thanks for the introduction. *Writes it down on tbr list* Caroline
I hope you enjoy it, Caroline. I’m delighted to have two more Bakker treats in store!
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