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Tomorrow Pamplona
A professional boxer and a family man meet by chance on a journey to the Pamplona Bull Run. The boxer is fleeing an unhappy love. The father hopes to escape his dull routine. Both know that, eventually, they will have to return to the place each calls homeA". A story about anger, aggression and the desire for intimacy.
189 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
August 7, 2021
Kitabın highlight'ını kaçırdım sanırım, zaten aman aman bir şey değildi böyle olunca iyice tadı kaçtı. Bitirmiş olmak için bitirdim ama kitap ne anlatıyor deseniz nsmfmskd derim ki nE?
Boksör var, otostop çekiyor, yol Pamplona'ya snkfmsmdsmd hadi çabuk işimiz var.
Boksör var, otostop çekiyor, yol Pamplona'ya snkfmsmdsmd hadi çabuk işimiz var.
June 8, 2019
A family man picks up a hitchhiker, a boxer on the run, and a male bonding road trip ensues. Perfect pacing to this short novel, with alternating sections between the past and the present, picking up speed to it's shattering climax.
July 15, 2025
kan van Mersbergen schijnt een fantastische schrijver te zijn. ik heb van hem ook Naar de overkant van de nacht gelezen, en ik zie het nog niet. Maar... we blijven hem proberen
October 17, 2015
Op aanraden van Niels, het eerste Nederlandse boek dat ik in lange tijd heb gelezen. En met plezier. Uitgebeende proza. Personages die we vrijwel uitsluitend leren kennen via beschrijvingen van hun handelingen. Een uitgekiende structuur die de onthullingen over de voorgeschiedenis van de hoofdpersoon doseert voor maximale impact. Leest vlot zonder vluchtig te zijn. Ik kan dit boek op mijn beurt aanraden en ik ga op zoek naar het volgende niet-suffe Nederlandse boek. Tips welkom.
March 25, 2016
Tā jau neslikts ļoti hemingvejisks gabals (ar atsaucēm un visu pārējo) par buļļiem un bēgošu bokseri, bet tomēr nebija nekā pārsteidzoša vai pat diez ko spēcīga, atskaitot varbūt pāris ainas.
February 27, 2023
Citaat : Hij hoort de stier snuiven en het is Ragna die briesend voor hem staat en hem te lijf wil gaan, maar dat moment uitstelt en afstand houdt, eerst zijn huid met haar vingertoppen aftast en dan dichterbij komt, hem kust en weer afstand neemt, zachtjes tegen zijn borst blaast en naar boven gaat, als de adem die hij nu voelt in zijn hals.
Review : Danny, rent door de straten van Amsterdam. In de regen. Hij moet vluchten. Hij probeert een lift te krijgen, weg van iets of iemand dat hem schijnbaar op de hielen zit. En Robbert geeft hem die dringende lift. De man is onderweg naar Pamplona. Elk jaar rent hij daar met de meute mee, voor de stieren uit.
Robbert neemt altijd lifters mee om wat gezelligheid tijdens de monotone autorit te hebben. Maar van Danny hoeft hij die niet te verwachten. Die zwijgt en is zelfs wat grof tegen de man die hem een lift geeft, zijn eten en drinken betaalt en gewoon vriendelijk tegenover hem wil zijn. Vermits Danny geen bepaald reisdoel heeft stelt Robbert hem voor om mee te rijden naar Pamplona.
In flashbacks, verteld tussen het verhaal over de tocht naar Pamplona door, wordt de aanloop naar datgene wat Danny doet vluchten langzaam verder uit de doeken gedaan. Danny was gevraagd om in Duitsland een serie gevechten te doen door de kreupele organisator van allerhande boksgala’s. Hij ontmoet zijn rechterhand, een Thaise vrouw, met wie Danny een passionele vrijpartij heeft. Hij wordt verliefd, krijgt iets wat in zijn ogen op een relatie lijkt, maar begint vervolgens aan haar trouw te twijfelen.
De tocht naar Pamplona vordert ondertussen gestaag, zonder dat Danny iets noemenswaardigs loslaat, (de lezer weet ondertussen al meer) tot Robberts grote spijt. Want het is hem wel duidelijk dat zijn reisgenoot op de vlucht is.
In Pamplona zelf gebeurt er iets wat een band schept tussen Danny en Robbert.
Morgen zijn we in Pamplona is één van de sterkste Nederlandse romans die ik de laatste jaren gelezen heb. Het verhaal wordt héél sober weergegeven, maar het roept een spanning op waar je kippenvel van krijgt.
Review : Danny, rent door de straten van Amsterdam. In de regen. Hij moet vluchten. Hij probeert een lift te krijgen, weg van iets of iemand dat hem schijnbaar op de hielen zit. En Robbert geeft hem die dringende lift. De man is onderweg naar Pamplona. Elk jaar rent hij daar met de meute mee, voor de stieren uit.
Robbert neemt altijd lifters mee om wat gezelligheid tijdens de monotone autorit te hebben. Maar van Danny hoeft hij die niet te verwachten. Die zwijgt en is zelfs wat grof tegen de man die hem een lift geeft, zijn eten en drinken betaalt en gewoon vriendelijk tegenover hem wil zijn. Vermits Danny geen bepaald reisdoel heeft stelt Robbert hem voor om mee te rijden naar Pamplona.
In flashbacks, verteld tussen het verhaal over de tocht naar Pamplona door, wordt de aanloop naar datgene wat Danny doet vluchten langzaam verder uit de doeken gedaan. Danny was gevraagd om in Duitsland een serie gevechten te doen door de kreupele organisator van allerhande boksgala’s. Hij ontmoet zijn rechterhand, een Thaise vrouw, met wie Danny een passionele vrijpartij heeft. Hij wordt verliefd, krijgt iets wat in zijn ogen op een relatie lijkt, maar begint vervolgens aan haar trouw te twijfelen.
De tocht naar Pamplona vordert ondertussen gestaag, zonder dat Danny iets noemenswaardigs loslaat, (de lezer weet ondertussen al meer) tot Robberts grote spijt. Want het is hem wel duidelijk dat zijn reisgenoot op de vlucht is.
In Pamplona zelf gebeurt er iets wat een band schept tussen Danny en Robbert.
Morgen zijn we in Pamplona is één van de sterkste Nederlandse romans die ik de laatste jaren gelezen heb. Het verhaal wordt héél sober weergegeven, maar het roept een spanning op waar je kippenvel van krijgt.
May 23, 2024
Tomorrow Pamplona
A lot of reviews talk about this as a short read and, yes, in some respects it is but, to my mind, it feels… leisurely in its approach to storytelling, it dwells on often seeming insignificant moments. I'm not saying it drags but it does take its sweet time flitting back and forward between past and present, in no big rush to share its secrets. The plot is simple enough, a boxer clearly on the run from something (no coat, no money) hitches a ride with a family man (Robert) on his way to run with the bulls in Pamplona, something he's done annually for years. The man is affable and chatty, the boxer surley and laconic. They are an odd couple and yet a connection forms and the boxer (Danny) ends up agreeing to join Robert in Pamplona where things do not go well but it wouldn't be much of a book if they did. Oddly, though, that is not the book's climax but it is the turning point.
My main problem was an inability to warm (or relate) to either of the characters. One reviewer said there was too much doing and not enough talking and I have to agree plus what talking there is doesn't say that much. It does do a decent job of maintaining tension. Not quite Pinteresque but getting there.
A lot of reviews talk about this as a short read and, yes, in some respects it is but, to my mind, it feels… leisurely in its approach to storytelling, it dwells on often seeming insignificant moments. I'm not saying it drags but it does take its sweet time flitting back and forward between past and present, in no big rush to share its secrets. The plot is simple enough, a boxer clearly on the run from something (no coat, no money) hitches a ride with a family man (Robert) on his way to run with the bulls in Pamplona, something he's done annually for years. The man is affable and chatty, the boxer surley and laconic. They are an odd couple and yet a connection forms and the boxer (Danny) ends up agreeing to join Robert in Pamplona where things do not go well but it wouldn't be much of a book if they did. Oddly, though, that is not the book's climax but it is the turning point.
My main problem was an inability to warm (or relate) to either of the characters. One reviewer said there was too much doing and not enough talking and I have to agree plus what talking there is doesn't say that much. It does do a decent job of maintaining tension. Not quite Pinteresque but getting there.
January 2, 2024
Wie rijdt er nu vanuit Nederland naar Pamplona om daar deel te nemen aan de stierenloop? En wie staat er nu zonder bagage of wat dan ook te liften, om het even waar naar toe? Er zit een bedrieglijke eenvoud in dit verhaal, want ergens voel je als lezer wel waar het allemaal om draait.
In China hecht men heel veel belang aan "mingzi", het hebben van gezicht. En hier heb je zo het gevoel van twee mannen zonder gezicht, die denken dat ze hele pieten zijn.
Aanvankelijk maken de snel bewegende plot, de korte zinnen en de gewone woorden de tekst net zo eenvoudig als stoten in een bokswedstrijd. Maar geleidelijk aan valt dat macho-kaartenhuisje in elkaar. En net zoals fysieke conflicten diepe emoties oproepen, doet dit boek dat ook, omdat het zich richt op één enkele vraag: hoe kies je tussen vluchten en vechten? Dat doe je niet... je vlucht niet en je vecht ook evenmin, vooral dan niet wanneer dat gevecht een triestige uitbarsting van gekwetste eigendunk is.
In China hecht men heel veel belang aan "mingzi", het hebben van gezicht. En hier heb je zo het gevoel van twee mannen zonder gezicht, die denken dat ze hele pieten zijn.
Aanvankelijk maken de snel bewegende plot, de korte zinnen en de gewone woorden de tekst net zo eenvoudig als stoten in een bokswedstrijd. Maar geleidelijk aan valt dat macho-kaartenhuisje in elkaar. En net zoals fysieke conflicten diepe emoties oproepen, doet dit boek dat ook, omdat het zich richt op één enkele vraag: hoe kies je tussen vluchten en vechten? Dat doe je niet... je vlucht niet en je vecht ook evenmin, vooral dan niet wanneer dat gevecht een triestige uitbarsting van gekwetste eigendunk is.
June 8, 2024
Een man, zonder jas od bagage,accepteert een lift van een automobilist die naar even later blijkt op weg naar Pamplona is. Al snel blijkt de lifter een bokser die op op de loop is voor een heftige gebeurtenis in zijn nabije verleden. Heeft hij een tegenstander het ziekenhuis in geslagen of wijzen de flashbacks op iets anders. Tijdens de bijzondere rit ontwikkelt zich een vreemde relatie tussen beide mannen en krijgen we langzaam een beeld van hun leven.
Langzaam is hier het sleutelwoord want het verhaal komt zeer langzaam op gang. Ik had gehoopt dat het boek iets meer over Pamplona zou gaan aar ondanks hetgeen de titel doet vermoeden speelt het boek zich grotendeels elders af.
Langzaam is hier het sleutelwoord want het verhaal komt zeer langzaam op gang. Ik had gehoopt dat het boek iets meer over Pamplona zou gaan aar ondanks hetgeen de titel doet vermoeden speelt het boek zich grotendeels elders af.
August 8, 2018
Wat een heerlijk boek is dit. Heb al meerdere mooie boeken van Van Mersbergen gelezen, maar dit spant tot nu toe de kroon. Prachtig opgebouwd, en helemaal omver geblazen over hoe de beide mannelijke hoofdpersonen communiceren - eigenlijk door heel weinig te zeggen. Heel knap.
June 29, 2025
Mooi, spaarzaam proza. Compact in stijl (uitgebeend is zo’n cliché) en toch rijk aan — precies de juiste — details. Alsof je stiekem op de achterbank zat, naast die tas met spullen en met Robert en Danny mee bent gereisd. Een verstekeling die stilletjes meeluistert.
October 30, 2018
Leuk boek
January 29, 2022
2.5tan 3.
October 10, 2016
Two men in a car driving through Europe to the famous bull run at Pamplona. Relationships and secrets emerge as well as an event at Pamplona. It's a short read but very good.
April 3, 2013
Bookwalk #5 | Tomorrow Pamplona | Jan van Mersbergen
My BookWalks allow me to celebrate the writing of fellow authors – sometimes friends – offering potential readers insight into the plot, themes and style of the novel without drawing any critical conclusions. Being a translator myself, I take a special interest in the English translations of Dutch novels, which I hope will become one of the focal points of future walks. The first in this series is Jan van Mersbergen’s Tomorrow Pamplona.
The rain is coming down harder now. His hair is plastered to his forehead and his T-shirt is sticking to his chest. (p. 10) | Why is Danny hitchhiking in the rain, wearing only a T-shirt?
He held the back of the boy’s head with one hand, pushed his head against his hip, and pressed the mouth guard onto the boys top row of teeth with his other hand. (p. 22) | The story flips back and forth between the trip to Pamplona and the events preceding it – Danny’s boxing career and the people feeding off it.
A small, brightly coloured car overtakes them. A woman is driving; she has long hair and the same colour skin as Ragna. (p. 43) | Like Danny, Van Mersbergen plays his cards close to the chest, revealing snippets of relevant information in passing. Together they leave the reader guessing along with Robert, the Pamplona-bound motorist who picks Danny up.
He’s a good bloke, said Richard. When he gets an idea in his head, he makes it work. He’s that kind of guy. Not a time-waster. (p. 60) | Because the dialogue is sparse, clear and usually succinct, you don’t miss the parentheses. The presence of a namesake always adds an odd dimension to a book, as if you’ve been dragged on stage at a show.
Do you know what the problem is with childbirth? You can’t do a bloody thing. As a man, you can be there with here, but there’s sod all you can actually do. (p. 82) | Robert keeps striking up conversations with Danny, circling around him, jabbing with questions, trying to get him to open up.
As they reached the changing room, the outside door opened and someone pushed a bike inside. The handlebars got stuck on the door handle it took a while to free it. It was Ragna. (p. 95) | Few other languages can boast the presence of so many bicycles in their literature. They regularly feature as a catalyst for bringing people together. The passenger on the carrier almost always has to touch the cyclist in some way. Not the mention the symbolism of having to exert oneself to carry the extra weight.
She opened her bag, took out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter, pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Danny looked at the cigarette. The filter was red with lipstick. (p. 103) | A boxer, a lady and a cloakroom – sex is in good hands with Van Mersbergen.
He looks into the cars they overtake. He sees men dressed in white in some of the cars, with red handkerchiefs around their necks. (p. 115) | As Robert and Danny approach Pamplona, they encounter the first carloads of men who will face the bulls with them.
In his head, he is running through Amsterdam again, flying once more through the streets with no idea where to go, just the certainty of leaving everything behind. But right now, in Pamplona, it feels as though his boxing boots are stuck to the cobbles. (p. 129) | At this point, there are 60 pages of the story left, but it would be criminal to give further excerpts that might reveal how the two storylines are interwoven and eventually tied together.
My BookWalks allow me to celebrate the writing of fellow authors – sometimes friends – offering potential readers insight into the plot, themes and style of the novel without drawing any critical conclusions. Being a translator myself, I take a special interest in the English translations of Dutch novels, which I hope will become one of the focal points of future walks. The first in this series is Jan van Mersbergen’s Tomorrow Pamplona.
The rain is coming down harder now. His hair is plastered to his forehead and his T-shirt is sticking to his chest. (p. 10) | Why is Danny hitchhiking in the rain, wearing only a T-shirt?
He held the back of the boy’s head with one hand, pushed his head against his hip, and pressed the mouth guard onto the boys top row of teeth with his other hand. (p. 22) | The story flips back and forth between the trip to Pamplona and the events preceding it – Danny’s boxing career and the people feeding off it.
A small, brightly coloured car overtakes them. A woman is driving; she has long hair and the same colour skin as Ragna. (p. 43) | Like Danny, Van Mersbergen plays his cards close to the chest, revealing snippets of relevant information in passing. Together they leave the reader guessing along with Robert, the Pamplona-bound motorist who picks Danny up.
He’s a good bloke, said Richard. When he gets an idea in his head, he makes it work. He’s that kind of guy. Not a time-waster. (p. 60) | Because the dialogue is sparse, clear and usually succinct, you don’t miss the parentheses. The presence of a namesake always adds an odd dimension to a book, as if you’ve been dragged on stage at a show.
Do you know what the problem is with childbirth? You can’t do a bloody thing. As a man, you can be there with here, but there’s sod all you can actually do. (p. 82) | Robert keeps striking up conversations with Danny, circling around him, jabbing with questions, trying to get him to open up.
As they reached the changing room, the outside door opened and someone pushed a bike inside. The handlebars got stuck on the door handle it took a while to free it. It was Ragna. (p. 95) | Few other languages can boast the presence of so many bicycles in their literature. They regularly feature as a catalyst for bringing people together. The passenger on the carrier almost always has to touch the cyclist in some way. Not the mention the symbolism of having to exert oneself to carry the extra weight.
She opened her bag, took out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter, pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Danny looked at the cigarette. The filter was red with lipstick. (p. 103) | A boxer, a lady and a cloakroom – sex is in good hands with Van Mersbergen.
He looks into the cars they overtake. He sees men dressed in white in some of the cars, with red handkerchiefs around their necks. (p. 115) | As Robert and Danny approach Pamplona, they encounter the first carloads of men who will face the bulls with them.
In his head, he is running through Amsterdam again, flying once more through the streets with no idea where to go, just the certainty of leaving everything behind. But right now, in Pamplona, it feels as though his boxing boots are stuck to the cobbles. (p. 129) | At this point, there are 60 pages of the story left, but it would be criminal to give further excerpts that might reveal how the two storylines are interwoven and eventually tied together.
June 14, 2011
A road trip taken by two men across Europe to the bull-running at Pamplona. The set-up appealed to me: it’s quite similar to my own novel, with two men on a road trip, exploring the strange relationship between them and the mutual search for something more than what they have.
The characters are quite different from mine, though. They start as strangers: Robert picks up Danny outside a service station and offers him a lift. Despite Robert’s best attempts to get inside Danny’s head, they really remain strangers right to the end of the novel. Danny is monosyllabic and secretive, a professional boxer fleeing some initially unspecified trouble and a messed-up relationship. Beyond that he refuses to say any more, and when Robert tries to press him, he threatens to pull up the handbrake as they’re speeding down the motorway.
There is real tension in the car, and I was drawn immediately into the story, wondering what Danny’s secrets were. Not much is revealed about Robert beyond the fact that he’s a hard-working family man who goes to Pamplona every year to feel alive. Nevertheless I did feel a sympathy for him – he is clearly trying to help Danny, and perhaps needs something from him too, something which Danny refuses to give.
Through flashbacks we gradually learn more about Danny’s story and his troubled relationship with Ragna, and yet still a lot is withheld. The author never allows us inside the characters’ heads, so we have to rely on their actions and speech, and in Danny’s case this doesn’t give us much to go on. I find it works very well mostly because it keeps things mysterious and leaves a lot of blanks for us to fill in. Where it didn’t work so well for me is in the scenes with Ragna, because with so few words and zero emotional expression, you don’t really get to see the foundation for the relationship between them. It’s just a few mumbled words, and then suddenly she’s got his cock in her hand. Even after that, the main development in their relationship is that they have sex in various different positions. The emotional repression is all true to the character, but still it makes it hard to understand why he feels so strongly about Ragna, which his actions make clear that he really does. It also makes the sex feel a little bit nasty.
There’s a wonderful dreaminess about the passages in Pamplona itself. It’s an experience which is supposed to be visceral and to make them feel alive, and yet Danny seems more detached than ever. It’s as if he’s a spectator to events that are happening to someone else. Even as the bulls are charging, nothing seems real. Afterwards neither he nor Robert can remember much about the whole thing, other than vague impressions of colour.
Tomorrow Pamplona is a novel that manages to convey a lot despite its relatively short length, its spare writing style and the elusiveness of its main character. As Danny is mumbling a one-word evasion or playing with the door of a toy car, we have space as readers to fill in the blanks. As more of the back-story gets filled in through flashbacks, we get more information to help us hone our guesswork, and by the end we arrive at something like an understanding of Danny’s character, as far as such a thing is possible. It’s a satisfying structure, and results in an intriguing novel that reveals its secrets gradually and builds suspense as the car rolls towards Pamplona.
The characters are quite different from mine, though. They start as strangers: Robert picks up Danny outside a service station and offers him a lift. Despite Robert’s best attempts to get inside Danny’s head, they really remain strangers right to the end of the novel. Danny is monosyllabic and secretive, a professional boxer fleeing some initially unspecified trouble and a messed-up relationship. Beyond that he refuses to say any more, and when Robert tries to press him, he threatens to pull up the handbrake as they’re speeding down the motorway.
There is real tension in the car, and I was drawn immediately into the story, wondering what Danny’s secrets were. Not much is revealed about Robert beyond the fact that he’s a hard-working family man who goes to Pamplona every year to feel alive. Nevertheless I did feel a sympathy for him – he is clearly trying to help Danny, and perhaps needs something from him too, something which Danny refuses to give.
Through flashbacks we gradually learn more about Danny’s story and his troubled relationship with Ragna, and yet still a lot is withheld. The author never allows us inside the characters’ heads, so we have to rely on their actions and speech, and in Danny’s case this doesn’t give us much to go on. I find it works very well mostly because it keeps things mysterious and leaves a lot of blanks for us to fill in. Where it didn’t work so well for me is in the scenes with Ragna, because with so few words and zero emotional expression, you don’t really get to see the foundation for the relationship between them. It’s just a few mumbled words, and then suddenly she’s got his cock in her hand. Even after that, the main development in their relationship is that they have sex in various different positions. The emotional repression is all true to the character, but still it makes it hard to understand why he feels so strongly about Ragna, which his actions make clear that he really does. It also makes the sex feel a little bit nasty.
There’s a wonderful dreaminess about the passages in Pamplona itself. It’s an experience which is supposed to be visceral and to make them feel alive, and yet Danny seems more detached than ever. It’s as if he’s a spectator to events that are happening to someone else. Even as the bulls are charging, nothing seems real. Afterwards neither he nor Robert can remember much about the whole thing, other than vague impressions of colour.
Tomorrow Pamplona is a novel that manages to convey a lot despite its relatively short length, its spare writing style and the elusiveness of its main character. As Danny is mumbling a one-word evasion or playing with the door of a toy car, we have space as readers to fill in the blanks. As more of the back-story gets filled in through flashbacks, we get more information to help us hone our guesswork, and by the end we arrive at something like an understanding of Danny’s character, as far as such a thing is possible. It’s a satisfying structure, and results in an intriguing novel that reveals its secrets gradually and builds suspense as the car rolls towards Pamplona.
October 16, 2014
A superb novella. Jan van Mersbergen explores the male psyche through the boxer Danny and the family man Robert, one thumbing a ride from the other one rainy afternoon out of Amsterdam. Both are running away from life -- Danny from his doomed romance with the inscrutable Ragna, while Robert gets away every year from wife, kids and job to go down to the feria in Pamplona, the running of the bulls that Hemingway first made famous back in the '30s before Bollywood latched on to it more recently.
Because of the subject matter (masculine crisis, bulls of San Fermin) and the style (short, punchy sentences), comparisons with Hemingway are practically inevitable, and JVM gives a sly nod to Papa with a scene set in a roadside bodega just outside Pamplona. The owner is pointing to a faded photo on the wall:
His name. Esteban Domeño. An American wrote a book about the fiesta. He described Esteban's death, but in the book he was called Vicente... Everyone goes to the bull running and they all know the name of Vicente Girones. No one knows the name Domeño.
*
JVM's prose is clean, spare and efficient, and drives the story forward irresistibly. Nothing is wasted, nothing is in excess. The style is cinematic, mixing Danny's flashbacks of Amsterdam (the boxing club, Ragna) with the present moment, the road trip to the south along the motorways of Belgium and France. Tenses alternate likewise -- past, present, past, present again.
There are some beautiful setpieces, most notably a night-time halt by a river in southern France where Danny has a strange encounter with a swimmer. The sights and sounds of Pamplona on fiesta-day are evoked vividly, although the best description of what it's like to be running in front of half a dozen charging bulls comes earlier, from the mouth of Robert. The shocking denouement, when it comes, tops even the violence of the feria.
For me, a final defining aspect of the novel is its seamless European-ness. The effortless crossing of borders (Holland, Belgium, France, Spain), the constant switching between multiple languages (Dutch, English, French, Spanish), even the multi-cultural hodgepodge of a big city like Amsterdam (white, black, Asian, African, Arab) -- it's all in here. The book brings you close to how it actually feels to be living in western Europe today. Not a feat I've come across too often, so kudos to JVM on that account too.
*
A word then about the publishers Peirene. The enterprising Meike Ziervogel set it up back in 2009 with the express aim of introducing modern European fiction to a wider readership. Over the last four years, they have brought out a dozen novels in English translation, from all corners of the continent, each of them less than 200 pages, each designed to be read in a couple of days at most. If Tomorrow Pamplona is anything to go by, any sentient reader will be hunting down the rest of their output tout de suite. I can only hope that Ziervogel and her brilliant translator Laura Watkinson are getting on the case with Jan van Mersbergen's other novels too. Can't wait to read more of his stuff...
Because of the subject matter (masculine crisis, bulls of San Fermin) and the style (short, punchy sentences), comparisons with Hemingway are practically inevitable, and JVM gives a sly nod to Papa with a scene set in a roadside bodega just outside Pamplona. The owner is pointing to a faded photo on the wall:
His name. Esteban Domeño. An American wrote a book about the fiesta. He described Esteban's death, but in the book he was called Vicente... Everyone goes to the bull running and they all know the name of Vicente Girones. No one knows the name Domeño.
*
JVM's prose is clean, spare and efficient, and drives the story forward irresistibly. Nothing is wasted, nothing is in excess. The style is cinematic, mixing Danny's flashbacks of Amsterdam (the boxing club, Ragna) with the present moment, the road trip to the south along the motorways of Belgium and France. Tenses alternate likewise -- past, present, past, present again.
There are some beautiful setpieces, most notably a night-time halt by a river in southern France where Danny has a strange encounter with a swimmer. The sights and sounds of Pamplona on fiesta-day are evoked vividly, although the best description of what it's like to be running in front of half a dozen charging bulls comes earlier, from the mouth of Robert. The shocking denouement, when it comes, tops even the violence of the feria.
For me, a final defining aspect of the novel is its seamless European-ness. The effortless crossing of borders (Holland, Belgium, France, Spain), the constant switching between multiple languages (Dutch, English, French, Spanish), even the multi-cultural hodgepodge of a big city like Amsterdam (white, black, Asian, African, Arab) -- it's all in here. The book brings you close to how it actually feels to be living in western Europe today. Not a feat I've come across too often, so kudos to JVM on that account too.
*
A word then about the publishers Peirene. The enterprising Meike Ziervogel set it up back in 2009 with the express aim of introducing modern European fiction to a wider readership. Over the last four years, they have brought out a dozen novels in English translation, from all corners of the continent, each of them less than 200 pages, each designed to be read in a couple of days at most. If Tomorrow Pamplona is anything to go by, any sentient reader will be hunting down the rest of their output tout de suite. I can only hope that Ziervogel and her brilliant translator Laura Watkinson are getting on the case with Jan van Mersbergen's other novels too. Can't wait to read more of his stuff...
December 2, 2016
Celebrated author Jan van Mersbergen's Tomorrow Pamplona was the fifth book upon the wonderful Peirene Press list of novellas in translation. In this instance, the tale was originally written in Dutch, and has been translated into English by Laura Watkinson. De Morgen calls this 'an intense reading experience... Van Mersbergen tells what needs to be told and not a word more'.
From the first, I did like the idea of the chance encounter which the whole plot revolves around; a professional boxer and the father of a young child 'meet by chance on a journey to the Pamplona Bull Run. The boxer is fleeing an unhappy love. The father hopes to escape his dull routine. Both know that, actually, they will have to return to the place each calls "home"'. Tomorrow Pamplona has a storyline which I would not automatically be drawn to. However, I have very much enjoyed the majority of Peirene's publications, and have high hopes for everything which they painstakingly translate and reprint.
At the outset, Tomorrow Pamplona appears to be very well paced, and the translation, particularly with regard to the sections which feature the boxer, Danny Clare, has such a rhythm to it. The balance between action and imagery has been well realised: 'He crosses a busy main road and runs into a park. He comes to a patch of grass with a bronze statue in the centre, a woman holding a child in the air as though she wants to entrust it to the clouds'. With regard to the characters, however, the prose does tend to veer toward the relatively simplistic. The lack of complexity in sentence structure takes something away from the story as far as I am concerned; it felt like rather a plodding reading experience after the first few pages, and it's not a process which I can say I very much enjoyed.
There was no immediate captivation here for me. Whilst the scene was set rather well at the beginning, if anything caught my attention, I felt that it would be in the relationship which built up between Danny and the father, Robert, with whom he travels. The latter picks up Danny whilst he is hitchhiking, and asks him to come along on the journey; he duly accepts. Robert's description of the trip, which he makes each year, and the passion which it strikes in him has been well evoked: 'Tomorrow morning I'm going to come face to face with a bunch of bulls, Robert continues. He taps the steering wheel. I'll be standing there on one of those streets in Pamplona, in my white shirt, together with all those other people in their white shirts. Then they let the bulls out and you'd better start running'. It is his pilgrimage of sorts. 'It's a tradition, Robert continues. It's a celebration. It's danger. It's real life'.
I found a lot of the writing about Danny's fights and preparation for them a little repetitive; perhaps deliberately so, I'm not entirely sure. There was no wonder for me here; I did not connect with any of the characters, as I so often tend to do with Peirene's novellas. Whilst it was an okay read on the whole, it stirred no strong feelings within me, and it isn't anything which I would recommend.
From the first, I did like the idea of the chance encounter which the whole plot revolves around; a professional boxer and the father of a young child 'meet by chance on a journey to the Pamplona Bull Run. The boxer is fleeing an unhappy love. The father hopes to escape his dull routine. Both know that, actually, they will have to return to the place each calls "home"'. Tomorrow Pamplona has a storyline which I would not automatically be drawn to. However, I have very much enjoyed the majority of Peirene's publications, and have high hopes for everything which they painstakingly translate and reprint.
At the outset, Tomorrow Pamplona appears to be very well paced, and the translation, particularly with regard to the sections which feature the boxer, Danny Clare, has such a rhythm to it. The balance between action and imagery has been well realised: 'He crosses a busy main road and runs into a park. He comes to a patch of grass with a bronze statue in the centre, a woman holding a child in the air as though she wants to entrust it to the clouds'. With regard to the characters, however, the prose does tend to veer toward the relatively simplistic. The lack of complexity in sentence structure takes something away from the story as far as I am concerned; it felt like rather a plodding reading experience after the first few pages, and it's not a process which I can say I very much enjoyed.
There was no immediate captivation here for me. Whilst the scene was set rather well at the beginning, if anything caught my attention, I felt that it would be in the relationship which built up between Danny and the father, Robert, with whom he travels. The latter picks up Danny whilst he is hitchhiking, and asks him to come along on the journey; he duly accepts. Robert's description of the trip, which he makes each year, and the passion which it strikes in him has been well evoked: 'Tomorrow morning I'm going to come face to face with a bunch of bulls, Robert continues. He taps the steering wheel. I'll be standing there on one of those streets in Pamplona, in my white shirt, together with all those other people in their white shirts. Then they let the bulls out and you'd better start running'. It is his pilgrimage of sorts. 'It's a tradition, Robert continues. It's a celebration. It's danger. It's real life'.
I found a lot of the writing about Danny's fights and preparation for them a little repetitive; perhaps deliberately so, I'm not entirely sure. There was no wonder for me here; I did not connect with any of the characters, as I so often tend to do with Peirene's novellas. Whilst it was an okay read on the whole, it stirred no strong feelings within me, and it isn't anything which I would recommend.
September 15, 2014
Morgen zijn we in Pamplona is a story about love, betrayal and literally setting on a road of self-discovery. Amidst the turmoil of his life, Danny impulsively heads off to the nearest highway and starts hitchhiking to an unknown destination. For him, even if he is probably not aware of it, it's not about getting there, but about the journey itself. There is a reason why he is leaving The Netherlands, and slowly, flashback by flashback, we find out what his secret is. In my eyes, Danny is a stereotypical macho: a man who relies solely on his physical abilities and who does not like to talk much. When struck by misfortune, he can only react the way he did.
Robert, the 9-to-5 real estate guy who offers to give him a ride and ends up taking him all the way to Pamplona, is also a difficult character to like. Mind you, it's not due to his lack of trying that Danny remains stoically silent. Even though he does explain why he likes to pick up hitchhikers, I still can't fathom why Robert would risk so much for the sullen boxer. Off the bat, he believes him to be a good person, and not only shares all his food, drink and supplies with him, but he also pays for everything (and in Pamplona, he goes even further than that). I think that if the author had allowed his readers a peek into Robert's head (or even dedicated a few chapters to his first-person narrative), I at least would have understood him better.
And then there are the sex scenes with Ragna. There is nothing romantic about their emotionless copulation, I tell you, it's just plain porn. To be fair, I am assuming that this was done on purpose, to emphasize the type of (non-)relationship they had. Nevertheless, the graphic sex scenes are reminiscent of Dutch literature like Turks Fruit (translated to English as Turkish Delight ) and many Dutch movies (for example the award-winning Simon , which I liked despite the many unnecessary sex scenes).
But I digress. The story itself is well constructed. The road trip to Spain, riddled with uncomfortable silences and snarled one-liners, is the perfect vehicle for Danny to relive his recent memories and come to a final decision. The tension (what is he running from?) is increased to finally reveal a truth that is almost too terrible to bear. Regardless, the story didn't resonate with me. I was disappointed to find that the long drive was more focused on Danny's flashbacks than on the two men making a connection with one another. For me, there was just too much doing, and not enough talking.
Robert, the 9-to-5 real estate guy who offers to give him a ride and ends up taking him all the way to Pamplona, is also a difficult character to like. Mind you, it's not due to his lack of trying that Danny remains stoically silent. Even though he does explain why he likes to pick up hitchhikers, I still can't fathom why Robert would risk so much for the sullen boxer. Off the bat, he believes him to be a good person, and not only shares all his food, drink and supplies with him, but he also pays for everything (and in Pamplona, he goes even further than that). I think that if the author had allowed his readers a peek into Robert's head (or even dedicated a few chapters to his first-person narrative), I at least would have understood him better.
And then there are the sex scenes with Ragna. There is nothing romantic about their emotionless copulation, I tell you, it's just plain porn. To be fair, I am assuming that this was done on purpose, to emphasize the type of (non-)relationship they had. Nevertheless, the graphic sex scenes are reminiscent of Dutch literature like Turks Fruit (translated to English as Turkish Delight ) and many Dutch movies (for example the award-winning Simon , which I liked despite the many unnecessary sex scenes).
But I digress. The story itself is well constructed. The road trip to Spain, riddled with uncomfortable silences and snarled one-liners, is the perfect vehicle for Danny to relive his recent memories and come to a final decision. The tension (what is he running from?) is increased to finally reveal a truth that is almost too terrible to bear. Regardless, the story didn't resonate with me. I was disappointed to find that the long drive was more focused on Danny's flashbacks than on the two men making a connection with one another. For me, there was just too much doing, and not enough talking.
January 30, 2013
Being contracted to fight in high-profile boxing matches opens doors for Danny, one of which sends him literally running away from the life he has built. Robert travels regularly on a yearly pilgrimage to Pamplona for the bull running festival seeking a thrill to break the monotone of his idyllic life. A chance meeting between men of very different lives sends them both on the most unexpected trip.
A dreary afternoon finds Robert offering a soaked Danny a ride. The two have never met before, but they forge a friendship on the unspoken understanding of need. The need to seek change. Be it a change of pace or a change in perspective, they both unwittingly embark on a journey that initially is set for a run with the bulls, but turns in a race that ends with each man facing himself. What starts as a simple act of kindness evolves into a longer trip of self discovery and disparaging revelations.
The sparse, minimalist style of the book makes it a quick read rife with intrigue and suspense which slowly builds up. Told in a collection of flashbacks from Danny’s life, the story paints a compelling story of inner conflict which uncovers the life of a man that is not as simple as it seems. It is clear from the beginning that Danny is hiding something, while Robert is somewhat of an open book. The closer they get to Pamplona the closer we are to the truth of what each man is running from – the cobbled streets of Pamplona the stage for their unraveling.
Facing internal demons, dealing with dissatisfaction, anger, and remorse are all drawn out in a book that kept me tied till the last page. Jan Van Mersbergen hooks you on with the simplicity of his writing style while weaving a complicated web that draws you into a story plot that seems familiar. It is through the windows of Danny’s eyes that we witness the events that sometimes seem so familiarly boring to those that spurn intrigue. Yet, you feel a sort of comradery with him – reliving his success, love and betrayal. Facing the bulls that were running head on to him, looking into their eyes before finding your companion on the floor bleeding as he saves you from near death leaves you on the edge trying to get to that final page.
I had not initially thought that this book might be as interesting as it was, but I enjoyed reading through it. It was hard to put it down before reaching the last line. I recommend it to anyone who likes fiction. I have to admit, it is not often that I stumble on very well translate fiction, being as this was my first title from a Dutch author, I was happy that I was not let down.
A dreary afternoon finds Robert offering a soaked Danny a ride. The two have never met before, but they forge a friendship on the unspoken understanding of need. The need to seek change. Be it a change of pace or a change in perspective, they both unwittingly embark on a journey that initially is set for a run with the bulls, but turns in a race that ends with each man facing himself. What starts as a simple act of kindness evolves into a longer trip of self discovery and disparaging revelations.
The sparse, minimalist style of the book makes it a quick read rife with intrigue and suspense which slowly builds up. Told in a collection of flashbacks from Danny’s life, the story paints a compelling story of inner conflict which uncovers the life of a man that is not as simple as it seems. It is clear from the beginning that Danny is hiding something, while Robert is somewhat of an open book. The closer they get to Pamplona the closer we are to the truth of what each man is running from – the cobbled streets of Pamplona the stage for their unraveling.
Facing internal demons, dealing with dissatisfaction, anger, and remorse are all drawn out in a book that kept me tied till the last page. Jan Van Mersbergen hooks you on with the simplicity of his writing style while weaving a complicated web that draws you into a story plot that seems familiar. It is through the windows of Danny’s eyes that we witness the events that sometimes seem so familiarly boring to those that spurn intrigue. Yet, you feel a sort of comradery with him – reliving his success, love and betrayal. Facing the bulls that were running head on to him, looking into their eyes before finding your companion on the floor bleeding as he saves you from near death leaves you on the edge trying to get to that final page.
I had not initially thought that this book might be as interesting as it was, but I enjoyed reading through it. It was hard to put it down before reaching the last line. I recommend it to anyone who likes fiction. I have to admit, it is not often that I stumble on very well translate fiction, being as this was my first title from a Dutch author, I was happy that I was not let down.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2011
Boxer Danny Clare is on the move, and hitches a lift with a man named Robert, who is on his way to Pamplona for the Bull Run; not where Danny had in mind, but he needs to go somewhere, and it might as well be there. The chronicle of the two men’s journey to Pamplona is interspersed with passages depicting Danny’s life in the boxing world; the tangle he got into after falling for Ragna, the beautiful assistant of his new promoter; and the ultimate impetus for his current travels.
Tomorrow Pamplona is the fifth title from the ever-interesting Peirene Press, this time by Dutch author van Mersbergen (in the interests of fairness, I should declare that I know Laura Watkinson, the translator). As the publisher, Meike Ziervogel, notes in her brief introduction, the book is not quite as simple and straightforward as its direct style may at first suggest. There’s a twitchiness to the prose that mirrors the nervous energy Danny has as a boxer; for example, the scenes on the road often end it what feels like an extraneous detail, as though to suggest a kind of restless looking-around.
There are three scenes in particular which stand out to me as most effectively utilising the characterisation of Danny as a boxer, and the physicality which comes with that: the opening scene of Danny travelling on foot; the sequence at the Bull Run itself, where one of the key plot events takes place; and the critical incident that set Danny on the road. The book is engaging throughout, but I found those three scenes especially powerful. There’s also an effective contrast between the two travellers, with Robert’s view of the Bull Run as an escape from everyday life coming across as rather naïve (and, ultimately, carrying a bitterly ironic twist) when compared to the burden from which Danny seeks to escape. Tomorrow Pamplona is yet another good read from Peirene.
Tomorrow Pamplona is the fifth title from the ever-interesting Peirene Press, this time by Dutch author van Mersbergen (in the interests of fairness, I should declare that I know Laura Watkinson, the translator). As the publisher, Meike Ziervogel, notes in her brief introduction, the book is not quite as simple and straightforward as its direct style may at first suggest. There’s a twitchiness to the prose that mirrors the nervous energy Danny has as a boxer; for example, the scenes on the road often end it what feels like an extraneous detail, as though to suggest a kind of restless looking-around.
There are three scenes in particular which stand out to me as most effectively utilising the characterisation of Danny as a boxer, and the physicality which comes with that: the opening scene of Danny travelling on foot; the sequence at the Bull Run itself, where one of the key plot events takes place; and the critical incident that set Danny on the road. The book is engaging throughout, but I found those three scenes especially powerful. There’s also an effective contrast between the two travellers, with Robert’s view of the Bull Run as an escape from everyday life coming across as rather naïve (and, ultimately, carrying a bitterly ironic twist) when compared to the burden from which Danny seeks to escape. Tomorrow Pamplona is yet another good read from Peirene.
May 9, 2017
I am in a dilemma with this book. The story itself was one that hooked me straightaway, Danny a talented boxer is running away from something, still in his boxer gear and he manages to hitchhike a lift with Robert a family man who drives every year to Pamplona to run with the bulls.
As the journey continues in a road trip style the story behind Danny's escape emerges as he became involved in a love triangle.
Events in Pamplona take a different turn before we learn of the what had occurred initially to cause Danny to flee.
The incident when revealed was one I found shocking, (and that is despite enjoying crime fiction with all its accompanying crimes) , and the other individual who is the victim is such that I worried about the rationale . I don't really want to say anymore but I found it troubling and particularly as I found the character development in this short novella gave no proper explanation or understanding of why it occurred. It's fine a book moving apace with a basic story of two men's escape but when the plot takes a dramatic shift I feel the reader needs more explanation for an incident of violence against a person which then becomes entirely cruel and gratuitously used simply to shock.
I may not be articulating this well particularly as I am trying to avoid spoiling the read for another reader. However ultimately it has given me a lot of cause for thought in such a short volume- maybe ultimately that is the point?!
As the journey continues in a road trip style the story behind Danny's escape emerges as he became involved in a love triangle.
Events in Pamplona take a different turn before we learn of the what had occurred initially to cause Danny to flee.
The incident when revealed was one I found shocking, (and that is despite enjoying crime fiction with all its accompanying crimes) , and the other individual who is the victim is such that I worried about the rationale . I don't really want to say anymore but I found it troubling and particularly as I found the character development in this short novella gave no proper explanation or understanding of why it occurred. It's fine a book moving apace with a basic story of two men's escape but when the plot takes a dramatic shift I feel the reader needs more explanation for an incident of violence against a person which then becomes entirely cruel and gratuitously used simply to shock.
I may not be articulating this well particularly as I am trying to avoid spoiling the read for another reader. However ultimately it has given me a lot of cause for thought in such a short volume- maybe ultimately that is the point?!
August 11, 2015
Professional boxer Danny hitchhikes and is picked up by family-man Robert, who is giving himself a little break from his cushy family life to attend Pamplona's bullrun. Danny is fleeing from a ruined relationship. Of course Danny ends up driving with Robert from the Netherlands to Spain, otherwise the novel would be a lot more boring.
I thought the novel was ok, but nothing more. When I was reading it, I felt as if I was reading unmet potential; I thought the journey to Pamplona could've offered more conversation, more bonding between Danny and Robert. I think more dialogue (with speech marks) would have strengthened the book, and it would make the journey even that more significant. Danny unfortunately doesn't say much, and I wanted more of his voice. We only learned of his past through third-person flashbacks without him verbalising much. Also, I think that too early on van Mersbergen let on that Danny was running away because of a broken heart; it would've been better if Danny would've told us through conversations in the car with Robert.
I thought the novel was ok, but nothing more. When I was reading it, I felt as if I was reading unmet potential; I thought the journey to Pamplona could've offered more conversation, more bonding between Danny and Robert. I think more dialogue (with speech marks) would have strengthened the book, and it would make the journey even that more significant. Danny unfortunately doesn't say much, and I wanted more of his voice. We only learned of his past through third-person flashbacks without him verbalising much. Also, I think that too early on van Mersbergen let on that Danny was running away because of a broken heart; it would've been better if Danny would've told us through conversations in the car with Robert.
January 7, 2015
Behoorlijk okee. De constructie van het boek is zeer terzake, goede opbouw van spanning, dosering van plotinformatie. Kracht van het boek is dat er ook behoorlijk veel /niet/ gezegd wordt.
Twee kanttekeningen: stijl is her en der nog wat stroef: onduidelijke of onzuivere beschrijvingen, een enkele keer verlies van perspectief, her en der in clichés geformuleerd.
Terwijl ik dit schrijf vraag ik me af of het te maken heeft met de hoofdpersoon, die niet zo'n spreker is en weinig reflecteert, of het verhaal niet is geschreven in zijn denktrant. Maar het verhaal is in derde persoon enkelvoud, verhuld ik, perspectief geschreven, dus we zijn niet gebonden aan vocabulair van Danny
Twee kanttekeningen: stijl is her en der nog wat stroef: onduidelijke of onzuivere beschrijvingen, een enkele keer verlies van perspectief, her en der in clichés geformuleerd.
Terwijl ik dit schrijf vraag ik me af of het te maken heeft met de hoofdpersoon, die niet zo'n spreker is en weinig reflecteert, of het verhaal niet is geschreven in zijn denktrant. Maar het verhaal is in derde persoon enkelvoud, verhuld ik, perspectief geschreven, dus we zijn niet gebonden aan vocabulair van Danny
May 14, 2013
Waarom lees je? Omdat boeken als deze geschreven zijn. Schitterend verhaal over het verlangen naar een gezinsleven en het ontsnappen aan zo'n zelfde leven. Soms moet je uit de vinex-wijk ontsnappen en soms is je enige wens erin gezogen te worden om voor altijd te worden vastgeketend. En wat fijn dat dat zonder oeverloos gezwets kan.
Je kunt zelfs zeggen dat er iets te weinig wordt gezegd: om de liefde van Danny voor Ragna en haar misbruik van hem beter te begrijpen, had de auteur wel iets meer de niet gelijkwaardige relatie tussen die twee kunnen belichten.
Je kunt zelfs zeggen dat er iets te weinig wordt gezegd: om de liefde van Danny voor Ragna en haar misbruik van hem beter te begrijpen, had de auteur wel iets meer de niet gelijkwaardige relatie tussen die twee kunnen belichten.
June 23, 2013
Na 'Naar de overkant van de nacht' kon ik niet wachten om meer van Jan van Mersbergen te lezen. In deze roman is dezelfde voortjagende stijl herkenbaar. Ook hier doen de personages een poging om de werkelijkheid te ontvluchten. Ik verwachtte dat de roman over de stierenrennen zouden gaan, maar het is een roman over reizen en vluchten. In mindere mate ook over mannenvriendschap, als het zo genoemd zou kunnen worden. Er zit spanning in het verhaal en het leest snel weg, maar de combinatie die 'Naar de overkant van de Nacht' zo onvergetelijk maakte ontbreekt.
April 21, 2015
As with all the other Pereine Press novellas that I have read, Tomorrow Pamploma is a pensive, understated read that leaves the reader to connect the dots by himself. It makes up in description and characterisation what it lacks in pace and action. I could really empathise with both of the main characters, despite their obvious personality flaws, and I found myself genuinely caring about what happened to them when they returned to their real, everyday lives in Holland.
full review on my blog : http://madhousefamilyreviews.blogspot...
full review on my blog : http://madhousefamilyreviews.blogspot...
August 6, 2013
Didn't quite see that ending coming.
January 17, 2013
Brilliant book. Loved the characters, interesting story and great writing.
September 22, 2013
A distant relative of The Outsider.
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