The Penguin Book of Dutch Short Stories

The Penguin Book of Dutch Short Stories / ISBN 9780141395722 / Edited by Joost Zwagerman / 555-page paperback from Penguin Modern Classics

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"The stories here will provoke, delight and impress. Joost Zwagerman's selection forms a fascinating guidebook to a landscape you'll surely want to wander in again."--Clare Lowden, TLS

"There is a lot of northern European melancholy in the collection, though often tinged with wry humour...an excellent book"--Jonathan Gibbs, Minor Literatures

These short stories contain some of the most groundbreaking and innovative writing in Dutch literature from 1915 to the present day, with most pieces appearing here in English for the first time. Blending unforgettable snapshots of the realities of everyday life with surrealism, fantasy and subversion, this collection shows Dutch writing to be an integral part of world literary history. A husband forms gruesome plans for his new fridge; a government employee has a haunting experience on his commute home; prisoners serve as entertainment for wealthy party guests; an army officer suffers a monstrous tropical illness...