Julia

by Otto de Kat

One summer's afternoon in 1981, a factory owner, Christiaan Dudok, is found dead in his study having taken his own life. He has left no suicide note, but on his desk is a newspaper from 2 April 1942, reporting on the bombing of the north German town of Lübeck. The list of the dead includes the highlighted name of Julia Bender. As a young man finishing his studies in Lübeck in 1938, Christiaan is irresistibly drawn to Julia, a courageous German who has emphatically rejected the Nazi regime. But that same year he is forced to leave both Germany and the woman he loves, even though he suspects that he is making the greatest mistake of his life.

Julia is the story of a life lived wrongly, of a love so great that it endures for decades, and yet still fails. Fear of life and loss of courage, and terrifying inhuman fanaticism are the compelling themes explored in Otto de Kat's elegantly accomplished, elegiac novel.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, World War II, Germany, Literary Fiction

Audiobook

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Otto de Kat is de auteur van de kleine roman Man in de verte, die in 1998 verscheen. De roman werd goed ontvangen en er volgde snel een Duitse en een Engelse vertaling. Otto de Kat is het pseudoniem van Jan Geurt Gaarlandt (Rotterdam, 1946). Hij was directeur van Uitgeverij Balans en voorheen literair criticus bij de Volkskrant en Vrij Nederland. Onder zijn eigen naam publiceerde hij eerder al gedichten, die gebundeld werden in Het ironisch handvest (1975).

In het najaar van 2004 verscheen de roman De inscheper die eveneens zeer lovend ontvangen werd en waarvoor hij de Halewijck Literatuurprijs ontving. De Franse en Engelse vertaling ervan verschijnen in 2008. Bericht uit Berlijn is verschenen in 2012. Het boek werd in het Duits vertaald als Eine Tochter aus Berlin. In 2015 verscheen De langste nacht, die werd genomineerd voor de Libris Literatuur Prijs.

Reviews

[Eisha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book at all. 1 star because there is no lower option. For all those who do not want to waste their time on this book, I shall be summarizing the story.
TW: su*cide


The story follows Christian Dudok (actually from Holland) who is working in Lubeck, Germany amidst the beginning of the war. He is in love with Julie, an engineer working in the same company as he does and there begins a romance which is very dry and badly written. Julie is soon fired from the company by their boss Knollenberg for being a communist and her brother is arrested for a controversial play. Chris Dudok offers her safe haven and they end up making love, although this was not apparent until the very end of the book just because it was written SO BADLY. Long story short, Chris is forced to go back to Holland, where this whole time he HAS A GIRLFRIEND, who he continually describes as some evil, scheming woman. And he is "forced" to run his father's company. Such a tragedy to already have a settled business amidst a shaky economy during a world war. Woe be him. He settles for his "scheming" girlfriend but stipulates that they never have children, all the while still in love with Julia. Much later (I cannot follow the timeline of this book BECAUSE IT WAS JUST SO BAD AND DISJOINTED AND DID NOT MAKE ANY SENSE), he meets his old boss Knollenberg again who informs him Julia is died during a bombing, and surprise surprise, she was pregnant with his baby. And, she had a miscarriage, but she never got to inform Chris. The author jumps between the past and present in such a confusing manner that one can hardly keep track of what exactly is happening when. But the book begins with a 70ish year old Chris Dudok, who is found dead by his loyal butler Van Dijk, after overdosing on illegal medication.

Now for the reasons why I hate this book:
1) Boring. I still don't know what exactly I read and had to skim it once more to even come up with a summary.
2) Painting women as evil seductresses waiting for poor, naive men to be caught in their nets is not interesting to read about anymore. Please bury this trope and never let it see light of day again. Otto de Kat pathetically writes:
"A jolly girl, not without her attractive moments, and raring for opportunity. She set about casting her net with slow deliberation.'
"Outwardly the same, and no less charming in her eyes, but she was unsure how to approach him, given the rise in hid natural reserve. It only made her more cautious and wary in her scheming."
"She has kept a certain reserve - that has done the trick. Intimacy at arm's length, seduction by stealth, she was expert at both."
All these are written about Chris Dudok's girlfriend, who eventually becomes his wife. God, I hated the book the moment the author sees women as conniving witches out to get all honest men and a few angels among those witches that are far too pure and unaware of their own purity and appeal.
3) Chris Dudok is simply annoying. Manchild.

Highly dislike this book. I have no positive things to say about it. Felt like Otto De Kat just wanted a book published somehow about the war and ended up half-assing one just to be in that category. I don't know about his other works, but suffice to say, I will not be reading any of them any time soon.

[Rhuddem Gwelin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Books about WWII should always be interesting. The most interesting thing about this one is that the main character commits suicide in the first chapter. The rest is a mish mash of less than interesting memories that led up to the suicide. Even the title character Julia is a bit of a bore. Another hyped book that didn't turn me on although the Swedish translation that I read was nicely done. I appreciate good translations.

[Andrew Chidzey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I purchased this book in London recently prior to an impending trip to Berlin - the novel is a powerful exponent of the individual impact of war. Often we lose understanding of just how much conflict can impact people due to the sheer number of fatalities. This novel provides a unique perspective that reminds us of the long lasting impacts of war on the individual.

[Jelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prachtig geschreven roman. Mooie zinnen. Geen spanning, geen thriller. Leuk om weer eens een uitstapje naar de romanliteratuur te maken.

[Anouk · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have nothing to say about this. It was too boring

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 Sterne

[Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve had Julia by Otto de Kat on my bookshelves for a few months now – this review unfortunately missing the publication date by a few weeks - and although I’ve walked past the shelves daily, catching the title in my peripheral vision on numerous occasions, I’ve never been tempted to pick up the book and start reading. I couldn’t tell you why, just one of those things I guess, but one thing I can categorically say now, without hesitation; is that I wish I’d read it when it first arrived!

Physically it reminds me of another title from Maclehose Press I reviewed back in September – Good Offices by Evelio Rosero – and although similarly small in stature, Julia certainly packs a literary punch with an evocative and beautiful narrative that effortlessly reaches the hidden depths of your soul. It is a magical book, heart wrenching at times, and a tale of one man’s infatuation with a beautiful and intriguing German woman who always appears to be just out of reach. From the moment Christiaan meets the secretive Julia – a skilled engineer - at work in the company director’s office, he is captivated. Smitten and desperate to learn more about her he does his best to steal a glance here and a glance there. Julia is his story.

Full review on my blog http://www.milorambles.com/2011/12/08...

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

De roman ‘Julia’ van Otto de Kat is het verhaal van een verloren liefde; niet per se van een onmogelijke liefde. Die verlorenheid dringt Chris Dudok tot zelfmoord. Daarmee begint het boek. De geschiedenis speelt aan weerszijden van de periode van WOII; in de aanloop naar de oorlog dringt het angstvallige van de geruchten over Buchenwald allengs door, het hetzerige laarzengestamp is dan niet van de lucht.
Het karakter van Julia wordt getypeerd door haar daden, haar resolute gedecideerdheid; het karakter van Chris Dudok blijkt eigenlijk vooral uit wat de schrijver heeft nagelaten om over hem weer te geven.
De taal ademt weemoed, beweegt zich vooral tussen frustratie en een vorm van berusting; de geschiedenis wordt in een kalme taal van korte zinnen verteld, vol rake typeringen van de situaties. Mooi gedaan, mijn waardering voor al het subtiele. JM

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didnt enjoy the book as much as i thought i would. Intriguing start but then seemed to tail off .. Well written though as otherwise i wouldnt have finished it; interested enough to want to know what happened to them but story a bit slow in that i could pick it up and put down easily and took me ages to read considering only a small book!

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Clichéd phrases abound in this poorly-written, thinly-characterised novella - and the dialogue's no better. Dutch literature has so many masterpieces when it comes to WWII (Hermans, Mulisch - to name but two authors of such). This isn't one of them.

[Hermien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een weemoedig maar wel boeiend boek.

[Gijs Zandbergen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gelezen op een zondagmiddag. Beetje sentimenteel, maar passend in de tijd waarin het speelt. Iedereen die wel eens verliefd geweest is en om de een of andere reden, maar door eigen schuld, daar geen vervolg van heeft genoten, kan dit herkennen. De zelfmoord van de hoofdpersoon is een beetje te veel van het goede. Toch vier sterren, omdat het zo fijn is opgeschreven.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinarily powerful, taut and haunting book without one superfluous word.

I think it would be a great late high school text (which is meant to be a compliment)

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decisions, choices made.
Things left unsaid.

This was sad.

[AVid_D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps 3.5. Short, insular and sad.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mooi, ontroerend verhaal. Het was maar een klein boekje, maar het verhaal leek langer. Al had het best wat uitgebreider gemogen ook.

[Beldryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel like I read nothing at all

[Jules Verlaan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessant verhaal dat de aandacht weet vast te houden. De flashbacks verschijnen regelmatig met wisselende locaties. Intrigerend liefdesverhaal van voor wo2 tot nu.

[Agnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Onverwerkt verdriet, wat is het leven nog na verlies, zelfverwijt, en hoe verwerk je de confrontatie met de walgelijke verruwing die zich onder je machteloze ogen voltrekt.

[Anne Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first chapter of this novella was utterly brilliant – I loved the chauffeur, Van Dijk, and his discovery of and reaction to his dead boss. I thought he was a wonderful character and was instantly gripped by his voice and story.

It’s a shame then that from the second chapter onwards and for almost the rest of the book, we are given instead the story of Chris, the dead boss, and the events both in the war and leading up to his death. I’m sorry to say that Chris was a very irritating character and one of the most indecisive and weak literary men I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting. This may be in part due to the fact that a large portion of his story is told to us rather than being shown to us, so I felt very disengaged indeed from what is happening to him. How I longed to return to that first chapter.

I also didn’t believe in Chris’s deep and abiding love for Julia, the woman he loses in the war. Indeed, Julia, like Chris, also tells us a great deal of things and becomes very quickly wearisome as a character. Really, the two of them deserved each other, but were of little interest to me as a reader. That said, the prose is very nice, but this factor is nowhere near enough to make a book sing. And Chris takes far too long in getting (at last!) to the moment of death, alas …

So it was with great relief that the final chapter brings us back to that wonderful chauffeur once more, and the ending is very powerful indeed. Van Dijk very much deserves his own book and is wasted in this one.

3 stars: a missed opportunity for a great character who is forced to remain on the sidelines

[Saskia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man not daring to open his heart, but once.
A nation full of cruel industriousness and destruction, but also clear-sighted individuals.
The old yet lasting mistrust of the Dutch towards the Germans. Not all is what it seems or not all are what they seem.
Why do we act? Why do we not act?

These and other questions are explored in this beautifully written novella by Dutch writer Jan Geurt Gaarlandt under the pseudonym Otto de Kat. Just as the action of the the protagonists are never fully explained, especially the agonizing question why they never reached out to each other, so does the book pose many questions to the reader. How can we be at home in our own lives? How do we inhabit or create our existence? Chris seems to be more pushed by circumstances and directions from others (father, Julia, Knollenberg) than owning his life.

This book gives insightful renderings of the rise of Nazism in pre-WWII Germany and how easily people get pulled along when it serves their own gains. I could not help but feel that his criticism is also directed against the current frenzied industrial and economic growth at all costs. Where will it lead to?

Mostly, though, this book is showing us the life of a lonely man, "homeless" in himself, lost to his own life and unconnected with those closest to him. I much recommend the exploration.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read a book this year, make it this one.
Publisher Editors take note: this is what we want. Fresh new writers and not the same tired people who are no risk to you but dull for us.
Elegant. Effortless. A lesson in how to write. The only reason not to give 5 stars is because the plot was thin ( it is a short book) and the going back and forth confuses as it is done too often.

But, a charming if sad tale of lost love about a man who has to give up his rebel lover. At last, a tale that isn't about the Holocaust..( vital though it is and to keep the story alive, it is just too easy a device for novelists)...and about middle class people who take decisions but ones they regret.

A find in a million.

[Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was over halfway through when the overwhelming subtlety of this book dawned on me. The narrative deals with some very challenging themes, including glimpses of life in Nazi Germany, but in a way that leaves you to imagine and join up some of the dots, whilst at the same time nudges your emotions, particularly of sadness and regret. A real gem- my only slight irritation was a struggle to work out whether we were in the present , the immediate past or the significant past as some scenes included quite a complex sequence of memories. I think it's a book I will return to again soon and maybe even these criticisms will get ironed out!

[Romily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This powerful novella, sensitively translated from the Dutch, describes the effect that a short love affair, which takes place during the frightening turmoil of Germany in 1937, has on the emotional life of a young Dutchman, Christian Dudok. The consequences of his decision to leave his lover Julia impact on his future relationships and his own ability to live an emotionally satisfying life. His feelings of futility are given an ironic twist by a tragic disclosure many years after the war. The style is spare but elegantly wrought and suits the darkness of the themes.

[Anton Segers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Otto de Kat heeft maar een beperkt aantal thema's: in al zijn boeken gaat het over herinneringen aan vroeger, over hoe het verleden -en dan vooral oorlog- je tekent, hoe je de dwang van het voorgekauwd leven tracht te ontlopen om het geluk te zoeken...
Maar wat hij doet doet hij goed: ook in 'Julia' heb je die korte maar rijke zinnen, die je hypnotiseren, die zintuiglijke schrijfstijl die emotie voelbaar maakt. Straffe gast.

[Arjen Taselaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zorgvuldig opgebouwd verhaal over Chris Dudok, aanstaand directeur van een machinefabriek, wiens ontmoeting met Julia Bender in Lübeck in 1938 bepalend is voor zijn verdere leven. Dudok kijkt in zijn laatste uren - voor zijn zelfgekozen levenseinde - terug op de bepalende momenten in zijn leven. De Kat is een fijnzinnig stilist die onnadrukkelijk speelt met bekende thema's als de spanning tussen vrijheid en verantwoordelijkheid, en wel zo slim om niet alle geheimen te ontrafelen.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting book about a dutch man visiting pre war Germany and falling in love and looks back at his time in Germany through the eyes of his diary after his has killed himself years later, book is well written and a short novel and makes you think about lost moments and regrets

[Christina Roy]

One senses that the translation is brilliant.
The core of the book is evil, and the unpredictable responses to it; Help for Julia came from a surprising place. Evil wasn't limited to Germany. These issues are still alive and well in Europe.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ietsje minder boeiend dan de andere boeken van de Kat die ik gelezen heb maar wel de moeite waard. De sterke kant van de Kat vind ik de subtiele wijze waarop hij zijn karakters beschrijft. Een door de oorlog verloren liefde brengt de hoofdpersoon tientallen jaren later tot zelfdoding.

[Cathérine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erg ontroerend...