Memory is like a dog that lies down where it pleases....A story of a man, who still kept something of a human being inside himself living in the "brave new world" and just refusing to deal with itAlmost immediately I entered a world not of my making and willingly allowed myself to engage the characters within the covers and become somewhat a friend to them. My personal allowances were not wasted, as good fortune greeted me at every turn the novel made. Cees Nooteboom begins this work with a bit of a disparaging look upon his main character, Inni Wintrop. Though Inni failed at his own suicide, his only marriage, and avoided a working career sufficiently respectable and typical of the times, he was instead vastly superior at dabbling. Because of a small but suitable allowance provided by his aunt in which to live quite modestly, Inni was free to enjoy his daily chance encounters with all sorts of eccentric and passionate individuals, and allow life to challenge and confuse others in order that Inni himself might be entertained and educated in countless ways. Surprises happen almost on every other page and Nooteboom writes in a manner relaxed and conversational in tone. The novel was a joy to read and nothing in our realm of human nature was deemed off-limits to discussion and further inquiry. To list these delightful turns would take away some of the excitement in discovering them for yourselves as the novel progresses to its fateful end. Every character is easily imagined by the reader, and the enrichment in meeting new and enlightening people enriched my periods with them so much so that it was certainly painful to lose them in time to a sort of death that one cannot escape portending for oneself in the frame of a life hoped to be unanimously agreeable and worth living. I cannot encourage enough the reading of this fine little book for all who take life seriously, and for certain others of us who always seem to wish for more no matter the size of our serving

Rituales 

 Wij hebben het nu over jou. Vergeet niet, ik ben notaris geweest. Ik maak die dingen altijd af. 

Wat wil jij worden?'
'Ik weet het niet.'
Hij begreep dat dat geen goed antwoord was, maar het was het enige, zelfs als iemand graag altijd alles afmaakte. Hij had geen flauw idee. Eigenlijk wist hij zeker dat hij nooit iets wou, maar ook nooit iets zóú worden. De wereld was al boordevol met mensen die iets waren, en de meesten waren er duidelijk niet gelukkig mee

by Cees Nooteboom

 Inigo Wintrop no ha tenido hijos porque no se amaba lo bastante a s mismo y, tras el fracaso de su matrimonio y el fracaso de su suicidio un intento diletante, como todo lo que hace en la vida, deambula por las calles de Amsterdam y por el mundo del arte, de los negocios y del sexo, a merced de encuentros y descubrimientos fortuitos.Pero hay otras maneras de enfrentarse al horror de la existencia y de la muerte, como las de Arnold y Philip Taad.

 El primero intenta mantener a raya el pavor mediante un orden absoluto, un transcurrir cotidiano donde nada quede librado al azar. Su hijo Philip, por su parte, recurre al pensamiento oriental y a sus rituales, no menos estrictos.Una novela insidiosa, admirablemente precisa y elegante, que se clausura con respuestas inesperadas