Beyond Sleep

By Willem Frederik Hermans

More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: May 27, 2008
• ISBN: 9781468303759

Willem Frederik Hermans

Willem Frederik Hermans (1921-1995) was one of the most prolific and versatile Dutch authors of the twentieth century. In 1977 he received the Dutch Literature Prize - the most prestigious literary prize in the Netherlands. He is considered one of the three most important authors in the Netherlands in the postwar period, along with Harry Mulisch and Gerard Reve. Hermans' An Untouched House was published by Pushkin Press in 2016 to rave reviews. The Darkroom of Damocles and Beyond Sleep are also available from Pushkin Press.

Reviews for Beyond Sleep

[edwinbcn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

W.F. Hermans is named one of the big three top authors who dominated the Dutch literary scene during the second half of the Twentieth Century. «Nooit meer slapen» is one of his early novels, an all-time bestseller.The novel is based on autobiographical experience as a geology student. The bureaucracy and envy as observed in the academic circle thwarting the graduate student's effort to collect material described in the novel are a typical theme of this author. The survival elements of the geological excursion in rugged terrain in Scandinavia was later parodied in the work of Jeff Last's «Indian Summer» and others.

[bookomaniac-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Meest gave Nederlandstalige roman ooit: heel zorgvuldig gecomponeerd (in tegenstelling tot Hermans voorgaande werken), prachtig uitgeschreven (vooral de desolate "jungle" van Lapland komt goed tot zijn recht), en met een overtuigende thematiek (de zinloosheid van leven, godsdienst en wetenschap). De beruchte zwartgalligheid van Hermans ligt er natuurlijk dik bovenop (vooral in de "filosofische" gesprekken die Alfred met zijn stapgenoten voert, en met zichzelf), maar het stoort niet, integendeel, het lijkt heel natuurlijk. Knap

[thorold_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Written 45 years ago, but still very powerful stuff. And it reminds me why I always hated geography field trips...

[arubabookwoman · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Dutch geology grad student Alfred travels to far north Norway seeking to prove a discredited theory that certain circular craters were caused by meteors rather than glacial movements. Alfred hopes to win fame, professional status, and a new type of rock named after him.Instead, his entire journey is a comedy of errors. He arrives in Norway to discover that the expert his professor referred him to is a doddering, blind idiot, who moreover detests Alfred's professor. He is unable to obtain the aerial photos he needs to locate the craters. And he arrives at base camp totally unprepared for the mosquitos, the rigors of carrying pounds of gear on rigorous mountain hikes, and ill-equipped for the weather. However, he learns some life lessons along the way.This was a mostly amusing journey to a rarely visited area of the world with a humorously delusional guide.

[hendriksteyaert · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Dark, pessimistic, fatalistic,slow are a few words that describe this book. Although i kept on reading to the end with some interest, it is not my cup of tea. The author also tries to bring in too much viewpoints/subjects that have no relation to the main theme.