The office (novel)
The office (original title: Het Bureau ) is the German title of a cycle of novels by the Dutchman JJ Voskuil .
overview
The novel consists of seven volumes. In 2012 the first volume was published under the title Director Beerta by Verlag CH Beck and from 2014 to 2017 the remaining volumes by Verbrecher Verlag , all translated by Gerd Busse :
- Meneer Beerta (1996; German: Director Beerta , 2012, republished by Verbrecher Verlag 2016)
- Vuile Handen (1996; German: Dirty Hands , 2014)
- Plankton (1997; German: Plankton , 2015)
- Het AP Beerta Instituut (1998; German: The AP Beerta Institute , 2015)
- En ook weemoedigheid (1998; German: And also wistfulness , 2016)
- Afgang (2000, German: Abgang , 2017)
- De dood van Maarten Koning (2000, German: The Death of Maarten Koning , 2017)
content
Volume 1: Director Beerta
One day in 1957 Maarten Koning took a position as a scientific official in a folklore research institute due to financial difficulties . The institute would not release him from its clutches until his death. He studied Dutch studies and initially worked as a teacher. Actually, he only wants to have a harmonious marriage at home with his wife, who is anything but enthusiastic about his daily absence. The basic elements of office life are already defined in the first few days: Maarten should research the legends in various parts of the Netherlands about elves and the will- o'- the- wisp and how to deal with the horse's afterbirth . At home he is often so tired and so desperate about the bleak years ahead of him in the office that he hardly speaks to his wife and instead weeps silently as he falls asleep. Only visits to the institute's folklore correspondents in the country and participation in the folklore congress in Germany offer variety, which Maarten has little to gain from.
people
- In the office
- Ansing, Hendrik: Assistant to Dé Haan, formerly a student assistant, in conversation for a department "Rural language and work in agriculture"
- Asjes, Bart: first student assistant (successor to Hein de Boer), later scientific official in Maarten Koning's department
- Balk, Jaap: Head of the “Folk Names” department; later successor to director Beerta
- Bavelaar, Jantje: initially comes from the main office as a substitute, later successor to Teun Nijhuis for organizational work
- Beerta, Anton P .: Director, Secretary of the Commission
- Boer, Hein de: student assistant in the department of Maarten Koning
- Bruul, Heidi: student assistant in Maarten Koning's department; friends with Ad Muller
- Bruin, Cor de: Porter and caretaker
- Dekker: Operator in the main office
- Gerbrandy: caretaker in the main office
- Gruiter, Caspar Paulus de: Librarian in the office, successor to Koert Wiegel
- Haan, Dé / Deetje: Head of the "vernacular" department, deputy to the director
- Haar, Janter: employee responsible for correspondence with the correspondents
- Haar, van der: lawyer, secretary of the administrative board of the main office, later its director, Maarten Koning's chief superior
- Hendrik: see Ansing
- Hindriks: Cor de Bruin's representative as caretaker
- Ieperen, van: Draftsman in the office
- Koning, Maarten: scientific officer, responsible for the Atlas of Folk Culture, head of the "Folk Culture" department
- Leguyt, Lotje: Jaap Balk's secretary
- Meierink, Geert: Jaap Balk's assistant
- Moederman: Successor of Teun Nijhuis for the correspondent administration
- Muller, Ad: student assistant and successor to Annechien Rensink in Maarten Koning's department, studies German, friends with Heidi Bruul
- Nijhuis, Teun: Administrative officer in the office, responsible for correspondent administration, personnel and organizational matters
- Papendal: lawyer; Successor to van der Haar
- Rensink, Annechien: student assistant and successor to Bart Asjes in Maarten Koning's department, studies Dutch, later Hendrik Ansing's wife
- Rentjes, Koos: student assistant at Jaap Balk
- Slofstra, Douwe: as successor to Veerman, initially responsible for the clipping archive, later for the filing system
- Stoutjesdijk, Kees: student assistant in Maarten Koning's department, responsible for folk medicine, successor to Bart Asjes, studies medicine
- Swenker: Accountant in the administration of the main office
- Veen, Frans: employed in the office as the successor to Jan ter Haar
- Veerman: responsible for the clipping archive
- Veldhoven, Berthe: directs the folk music archive, which is attached to the office and department of Maarten Koning
- Wagenmaker: Employee of Miss Veldhoven in the folk music archive
- Wiegel, Koert: Librarian
- Wigbold, Henk: caretaker, successor to de Bruin
- in the commission
- Beerta, Anton P .: Secretary of the Commission, Director of the Office
- Buitenrust Hettema, Karst: Museum director
- Hillebrink: Professor
- Kater, Kaatje: Chair of the Commission
- Land, Ritsaert van der: scientific officer
- Stelmaker: Lawyer, professor
- Vervloet: professor, anthropologist
- other people
- Elshout, Jaring: collector of folk songs
- Fagel, Henriette: former fellow student and friend of Maarten Koning and Klaas de Ruiter
- Güntermann, Wolf: German folklorist
- Henriette: see Fagel
- Kasteele, van de: collector of folk tales
- Kees: Maarten Koning's brother
- Klaas: see de Ruiter
- Koning, Klaas: Maarten Koning's father
- Koning, Nicolien: Maarten Koning's wife
- Mannetje, 't: Chairman of the Bauernwagenverein
- Meer, Doctor van: Psychiatrist, treats Frans Veen
- Pieters, GJ (Staaf): Professor, City Director of Antwerp; together with Beerta editor of the magazine Ons Tijdschrift, chairman of the Association for Flemish Folk Culture
- Ravelli, Karel: Anton Beerta's friend and life partner
- Ruiter, Klaas de: Maarten Koning's friend and former fellow student
- His: Professor, German folklorist
- Springvloed: Professor, teacher from Maarten Koning and various students working in the office
- Vanhamme, Jan: Flemish editor of the Atlas
reception
Netherlands
The original, published from 1996 in seven parts with a total of 5200 pages, caused a reading bug in the Netherlands. The Dutch bought over half a million books from the series of office novels. Het Bureau was also broadcast as a radio play in 475 episodes by the Nederlandse Programma Stichting (NPS) and is considered a “ soap opera for intellectuals”.
Germany
The novel was also received very positively in Germany: “What a terrific portrait of the administrative working world. Every sentence a celebration of knowledge. Every type of person is known to all of us. A brick full of wisdom. Voskuil was a bestseller in the Netherlands. We wish the same for Germany. Great literature. ”.
Dirk Schümer sees it in a very similar way in the FAZ: “True world literature beyond the documentary becomes the office cycle, as with the long unrecognized ironic Kafka, only through the sarcastic distance between senseless everyday life and an apparently wiser philosophy, which of course never goes against the Trott can prevail. [...] The hero Voskuil lived through this hell and gave it to us as literature. Anyone who, like hundreds of thousands of Dutch people, becomes addicted to it [...] has to wait for the laudable Beck Verlag to add the other six volumes. Or it means: learn Dutch for Voskuil, no matter which office. "
literature
- Lut Missinne ea: Het Bureau - An evening with JJ Voskuil . Münster: Waxmann, 2011
Web links
- Book excerpts and interviews (PDF; 1.1 MB)
- The translator Gerd Busse reads from Das Büro
- Review notes on director Beerta (volume 1) at perlentaucher.de
- The office on the website of Verbrecher Verlag
Individual evidence
- ↑ Directory of persons ( memento of the original dated December 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website for the novel, accessed December 19, 2012.
- ↑ Christoph Bartmann: Novel cycle "Das Büro" - This nothing has it all , Süddeutsche Zeitung of August 29, 2012
- ↑ www.das-büro-der-roman.de from Beck-Verlag No longer available (Webarchive.org from December 9, 2013) [1]
- ↑ criminal publishing house
- ^ Marion Meier, Aachener Zeitung , August 18, 2012.
- ^ FAZ, October 6, 2012.
