Want to know what books Arnold Jansen recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Arnold Jansen's favorite book recommendations of all time.
1
Remco Campert, Donald Gardner, et al. | 3.67
Remco Campert published his first book of poetry at the age of twenty in 1951. He was the young star of the most self-aware and radical group of Dutch poets of the past century - the Vijftigers or 'Fifties' poets. With his subsequent poetry, fiction, humorous columns and performances he has become a household name in his own country. While his work is widely known on the European continent, with translations into Italian, French, Spanish and German, this is the first collection of his poetry to appear in the UK since 1968.
The light, off-hand tone of Campert's work, perfectly... more Remco Campert published his first book of poetry at the age of twenty in 1951. He was the young star of the most self-aware and radical group of Dutch poets of the past century - the Vijftigers or 'Fifties' poets. With his subsequent poetry, fiction, humorous columns and performances he has become a household name in his own country. While his work is widely known on the European continent, with translations into Italian, French, Spanish and German, this is the first collection of his poetry to appear in the UK since 1968.
The light, off-hand tone of Campert's work, perfectly captured in this subtle and sensitive translation by Donald Gardner (himself a poet of distinction) is deceptive, so that it is easy to overlook its engagement with life. Campert is someone who thinks in poetry. His themes are love, desire and transience, but his treatment is never top-heavy.
This selection is drawn, with some exceptions, from Campert's mature work and is thematic rather than chronological. The poems form a sequence leading from fragmentary, darkly erotic texts via others composed in a more personal lyrical mode to the meditative seriousness of the last poems in the book. less 
Arnold JansenRemco Campert has a similarity with my own family because his family was in the Dutch resistance as well, though he is very much older than me. But I really like his poetry because it was rebellious and against the tide of time, and there is a poem that is translated into English – I can read a little bit of it so that you can hear the repetition of it and the rhythm. (Source)
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2
Philip Larkin, Anthony Thwaite | 4.41
One of the best-known, best-loved poets of the English-speaking world, Larkin had a relatively small number of poems published during his lifetime. This Collected Poems, which J. D. McClatchy called a fascinating and indispensable text in The New York Times Book Review, brings together not only all of Larkin's published verse--The North Ship (1945), the pamphlet of XX Poems (1953), The Less Deceived (1955), The Whitsun Weddings (1964), and High Windows (1974)--but also a vast selection of his uncollected poetry. A brief Introduction by Anthony Thwaite illuminates both the life and verse of... more One of the best-known, best-loved poets of the English-speaking world, Larkin had a relatively small number of poems published during his lifetime. This Collected Poems, which J. D. McClatchy called a fascinating and indispensable text in The New York Times Book Review, brings together not only all of Larkin's published verse--The North Ship (1945), the pamphlet of XX Poems (1953), The Less Deceived (1955), The Whitsun Weddings (1964), and High Windows (1974)--but also a vast selection of his uncollected poetry. A brief Introduction by Anthony Thwaite illuminates both the life and verse of this highly perceptive and deeply acerbic poet, a dour yet witty soul whose brilliant writings so often suggest an ongoing conflict between the traditional and the modern.
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Ian McEwanThere are many writers of my age who are steeped in Larkin and, like me, incorporate the cadences of his lines, often without being aware of it. (Source)
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3
Романы в письмах Герарда Реве (1923-2006) стали настоящей сенсацией. Никто еще из голландских писателей не решался так откровенно говорить о себе, своих страстях и тайнах. Перед выходом первой книги, «По дороге к концу» (1963) Реве публично признался в своей гомосексуальности. Второй роман в письмах, «Ближе к Тебе», сделал Реве знаменитым. За пассаж, в котором он описывает пришествие Иисуса Христа в виде серого Осла, с которым автор хотел бы совокупиться, Реве был обвинен в богохульстве, а сенатор Алгра подал на него в суд. На так называемом «Ослином процессе» Реве защищался сам, написав... more Романы в письмах Герарда Реве (1923-2006) стали настоящей сенсацией. Никто еще из голландских писателей не решался так откровенно говорить о себе, своих страстях и тайнах. Перед выходом первой книги, «По дороге к концу» (1963) Реве публично признался в своей гомосексуальности. Второй роман в письмах, «Ближе к Тебе», сделал Реве знаменитым. За пассаж, в котором он описывает пришествие Иисуса Христа в виде серого Осла, с которым автор хотел бы совокупиться, Реве был обвинен в богохульстве, а сенатор Алгра подал на него в суд. На так называемом «Ослином процессе» Реве защищался сам, написав блестящую речь, и все обвинения с него были сняты. Две книги, впервые публикующиеся в русском переводе, сыграли в жизни Герарда Реве решающую роль и стали подлинным событием литературы XX столетия. less Arnold JansenThis is a book that travelled with me to Bosnia during the war in the 1990s and it had a great effect on my debut novel. Reve was born into a communist family and in later life he became a Roman Catholic, which was rather strange because many people left the church in the 1960s but he, an openly gay guy, proclaimed his Roman Catholic belief and he also found a new style of writing while he was... (Source)
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4
Ivo Andric, Lovette F. Edwards | 4.52
In the small Bosnian town of Visegrad the stone bridge of the novel's title, built in the sixteenth century on the instruction of a grand vezir, bears witness to three centuries of conflict. Visegrad has long been a bone of contention between the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires, but the bridge survives unscathed until 1914, when the collision of forces in the Balkans triggers the outbreak of World War I.
The bridge spans generations, nationalities and creeds, silent testament to the lives played out on it. Radisav, a workman, tries to hinder its construction and is impaled... more In the small Bosnian town of Visegrad the stone bridge of the novel's title, built in the sixteenth century on the instruction of a grand vezir, bears witness to three centuries of conflict. Visegrad has long been a bone of contention between the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires, but the bridge survives unscathed until 1914, when the collision of forces in the Balkans triggers the outbreak of World War I.
The bridge spans generations, nationalities and creeds, silent testament to the lives played out on it. Radisav, a workman, tries to hinder its construction and is impaled alive on its highest point; beautiful Fata leaps from its parapet to escape an arranged marriage; Milan, inveterate gambler, risks all in one last game on it. With humour and compassion, Andric chronicles the lives of Catholics, Muslims and Orthodox Christians unable to reconcile their disparate loyalties. less Arnold JansenIt describes life in the small town of Visegrad over four centuries, from the Ottoman occupation to the start of the First World War. The focus is the stone bridge across the Drina which links east and west, poor and rich, and Serbs, Croats, Jews and Muslims who live together. He shows the lives of ordinary people set against major historical events….The Bridge on the Drina is a page-turner and... (Source)
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