The Following Story

"One of the greatest modern novelists" -- A. S. Byatt "The prose has such clarity, charm and lightness that you take to disorientation with pleasure" -- Michael Ignatieff Sunday Times "After years of distinction in his own country, Cees Nooteboom has commanded attention with this gentle, European Literature Prize-winning story" Independent "He is a thinker as much as a storyteller and brings astute insight to his evocation of character and imaginative intellectualism... Playful, deadly serious and achingly real... Nooteboom makes every word, every observation, not only count but also linger" Irish Times "Nooteboom writes beautifully. His prose is clean and precise without feeling sparse, and he manages to combine clarity with an intense lyricism. Part travelogue, part elegy, part love story, this is an exquisite little novel, and far more substantial than its 90 pages suggest" Guardian