Lead Review
- Book: Freetown
- Location: Netherlands
- Author: Otto de Kat
Novella of loss, set in the Netherlands
Maria and Vincent – in their sixties – are regrouping after a significant affair. At the heart of the novella is the disappearance of Ishmaël who appeared one day on Maria’s doorstep with a newspaper. He was a refugee from Sierra Leone and without ado, she invites him to live with her and Maarten. Unusual, one might say. He was with them for 7 years.
Now he has disappeared. It seems he got his Dutch passport and hasn’t been seen or heard of since.
The couple, walking and talking, ponder his disappearance. Their thoughts are like streams of consciousness. His disappearance means Maria has an ending with no closure, almost a metaphor for what she and Vincent have had; perhaps now is the time to address the ending of their relationship. But endings coming all shapes and sizes….
It is a sad book in many ways, yes, there is a side trip or two to Sierra Leone – Maria ventures there without her husband’s knowledge. Vincent never shared that he had once been to Africa. They clearly shared of themselves, yet in many ways they didn’t. Secrets. Encounters. Longing. Loss. Full of sound but no fury, no passion.
Will the story stick with me? Unlikely, I sadly feel.
Beautifully translated by Laura Watkinson. If you enjoyed Two Blankets, Three Sheets by Rodaan Al Galidi, a story of being a refugee in the Netherlands, then this may be for you.
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