Gerard Reve

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gerard Kornelis van het Reve (1963)

Gerard Kornelis van het Reve (born December 14, 1923 in Amsterdam , † April 8, 2006 in Zulte , also known under the name Simon van het Reve) was a Dutch writer . Together with Willem Frederik Hermans and Harry Mulisch, according to Ton Anbeek's leading book Geschiedenis van de Nederlandse literatuur, 1885–1985, he is one of the “Big Three” of modern Dutch literature.

Life

Gerard Reve (1969)

His brother was the writer and translator Karel van het Reve (1921–1999).

After his early novel debut The Evenings 1947 and the highly regarded novels Werther Nieland and The Downfall of the Boslowitsch Family , there was a break in his life. Reve, who was married to the poet Hanny Michaelis from 1948 to 1959 , moved to England to write literature in a “world language”. It appeared Melancholia (1951) and The Acrobat and Other Stories (1956) and later the book A Prison Song in Prose (1968), but which already belongs to his so-called late work.

In 1963 Reve made his debut at the age of forty "for the second time" in his life: Op weg naar het einde was published , a letter novel that was already strongly characterized by the literary tendencies that Reve as a writer over the next 35 years should deal: With monumental irony and biting sarcasm , Reve appeared through his literary figures as a reactionary and provocative homosexual opinion maker, to whom "private" SM practices were not alien and who at the same time insisted that the Roman Catholic Church had the only true faith Represents earth. He defended the Pope even when he spoke out against homosexuality and abortion . In addition, Reve's work is vehement criticism of intellectuals, communists, Stalinists, leftists and all the Dutch who have not yet managed to come to terms with the past of World War II , "because they were all in the resistance".

Reve himself came from a communist and atheist family and was only accepted into the Roman Catholic Church in 1966. In the same year he had to defend himself in court against the accusation of blasphemy , because in his novel Nader tot U (German: closer to you , 1970) he had described the idea of ​​having sex with God in the form of a “one-year-old, mouse-gray donkey” to unite. Reve invoked his right to present his personal image of God in his literature and won the process.

It was not without good reason that Reve was said to have a certain closeness to Jean Genet because of his penchant for devotion to Mary , paired with the topic of excessive homosexual love - called "master's love" by Reve . The author never commented on this. Two other French writers were very close to his heart: Louis-Ferdinand Céline and Gustave Flaubert , who was not born in the same year but on the same day, which Reve jokingly took to be a sign. Both were reportedly born on a December 13th. Superstition drove Flaubert's parents to register December 12th as their birthday. Reve's parents chose December 14th.

Gerard Reve fell ill with Alzheimer's disease in 1999 and has lived in a nursing home in Belgium since 2005, looked after by his friend Joop Schafthuizen, known as Matroos Vosch. He died on April 8, 2006.

Awards (selection)

Bibliography of German translations

  • Closer to you. Novel. Merlin-Verlag, Hamburg 1970.
  • The evenings. A winter story. Merlin, Gifkendorf 1988, ISBN 3-87536-184-9 .
  • The downfall of the Boslowitsch family. In: Frans Carel de Rover (Ed.): The Netherlands tell. 15 stories (= Fischer 11411). Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1993, ISBN 3-596-11411-X .
  • The fourth man. Roman (= Library Suhrkamp 1132). Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1993, ISBN 3-518-22132-9 .

All translations are by Jürgen Hillner .

bibliography

  • Terugkeer (1940)
  • De Avonden (1947), German: The Evenings (1987)
  • Werther Nieland (1949)
  • De ondergang van de family Boslowits (1950)
  • The Acrobat and Other Stories (1956)
  • Moorlandshuis (1960)
  • Tien vrolijke verhalen (1961)
  • Commissaris Fennedy (1962)
  • Four Winter Vertellingen (1963)
  • Op weg naar het einde (1963)
  • Ze's poems (1965)
  • Gezicht op Kerstmis en other geestelijke liederen (1965)
  • Nader tot U (1966), German: Closer to You (1971)
  • A Prison Song in Prose (1968)
  • Uit de art. Send a letter to Simon Carmiggelt. (1970)
  • Four Pleidooien (1971)
  • De Taal the Liefde (1972)
  • Onze Vrienden (1972)
  • Creed (1973)
  • Lieve Jongens (1973)
  • Lekker Kerstbrood (1973)
  • Het Zingers Hart (1973)
  • Het Lieve Leven (1974)
  • Rietsuiker (1974)
  • Een Circusjongen (1975)
  • Ik had hem ran (1975)
  • Brieven aan kandidaat-kathiek A. (1976)
  • Three toespraken (1976)
  • Oud en Eenzaam (1978)
  • Een Eigen huis (1979)
  • Scheppend Kunstenaar (1979)
  • Moeder en Zoon (1980)
  • Brieven aan Wimie (1980)
  • De Vierde Man (1981)
  • Drie woorden (1981)
  • Brieven aan Josine M., 1959–1975 (1981)
  • Brieven aan Bernard S. (1981)
  • Brieven to Simon C. (1982)
  • Zeergeleerde Vrouwe (1982)
  • Wolf (1983)
  • Brieven aan Wim B. (1983)
  • Brieven aan Frans P. (1984)
  • De stille vriend (1984)
  • Schoon schip, 1945–1984 (1984)
  • Brieven aan schoolde arbeiders (1985)
  • Roomse Heisa (1985)
  • Brieven aan Ludo P., 1962–1980 (1986)
  • Klein gebrek geen bezwaar. Een keuze uit zijn brieven. (1986)
  • Verzamelde poems (1987)
  • The Secret of Louis Couperus (1987)
  • Zelf schrijver (1987)
  • Bezorgde Ouders (1988)
  • Brieven aan mijn lijfarts (1991)
  • Brieven van een aardappeleter (1993)
  • Brieven aan Josine M. 1959–1982 (1994)
  • Op zoek (1995; novella)
  • Zondagmorgen zonder Zorgen (1995)
  • Het book van violet en dood (1996)
  • Ik bak ze bruiner (1996)
  • Brieven aan Matroos Vosch, 1975–1992 (1997)
  • Met niks started. Correspondentie with Willem Nijholt (1997)
  • Het hijgend hert (1998; roman)
  • Gezicht op Kerstmis en other geestelijke liederen (1998)
  • Zalig Pasen (2001)
  • Brieven aan Bram P. (2003)
  • Gerard Reve - Geert van Oorschot. Briefwisseling 1951–1987 (2005)
  • Willem Frederik Hermans - Gerard Reve. Verscheur deze letter! Ik vertel veel te veel - Een briefwisseling (2008)

Film adaptations (selection)

  • 1980: Lieve jongens
  • 1983: The fourth man ( De vierde man )
  • 1989: De avonden
  • 1991: Werther Nieland (TV movie)

literature

  • Ralf Grüttemeier: After the Second World War. In: Ralf Grüttemeier, Maria-Theresia Leuker (Hrsg.): Dutch literary history. JB Metzler, Stuttgart et al. 2006, ISBN 3-476-02061-4 , especially pp. 298-303.

Web links

Commons : Gerard Reve  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ralf Grüttemeier: After the Second World War. In: Ralf Grüttemeier, Maria-Theresia Leuker (Hrsg.): Dutch literary history. JB Metzler, Stuttgart et al. 2006, ISBN 3-476-02061-4 , especially p. 300.
personal data
SURNAME Reve, Gerard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Reve, Gerard Kornelis van het (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch writer
DATE OF BIRTH December 14, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Amsterdam
DATE OF DEATH April 8, 2006
Place of death Zulte