Val, bom

by Gerrit Kouwenaar

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, War

124 pages

Published January 1, 1973

About the author

Nowadays he is considered "the grand old man of Dutch poetry" and collected nearly all the literary prices one can collect in the Netherlands.

Kouwenaar debuteerde in de Tweede Wereldoorlog met een aantal clandestiene uitgaven, waaronder Vroege voorjaarsdag. Hij schreef in die jaren voor het communistische verzetsblad De Waarheid en na de bevrijding voor Het Vrije Volk.

Hij was verbonden aan het tijdschrift (Reflex), en kwam in contact met de Experimentele Groep Holland en later met het experimentele kunstenaarsgezelschap Cobra. In 1949 publiceerde hij samen met de Cobra-schilder Constant Goede morgen haan, een combinatie van gedichten en tekeningen (Peinture-mots).

Aanvankelijk een meer sociaal en politiek bewogen experimentele dichter, later is zijn werk meer gericht op het taalgebruik in de poëzie. Kouwenaar streeft naar poëzie die autonoom is en voor zichzelf spreekt. Kouwenaar maakte ook talrijke vertalingen van toneelstukken o.a. van Brecht, Dürrenmatt, Hochhuth, Weiss, Kroetz, Sartre, Tennessee Williams, Stoppard, Osborne en Pinter.

His poems have been translated and published in anthologies in numerous languages. Full collections have appeared in English, French, German, Polish and Swedish.

Reviews

[Tom Mooney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soon to appear in English for the first time as Fall, Bomb, Fall, from Pushkin Press, this superb little novel is like a cross between The Catcher in the Rye and Catch-22.

First published in 1950 in Dutch, it tells of a few days in the life of Karel, a 17-year-old bored boy who is fed up of all the talk of war, and wishes they'd just get on and drop some bombs already. Of course, the very next day he gets his wish, and his slow crawl into adulthood abruptly turns into a sprint.

Charming, absurd, funny and tragic, this is a unique and surprising novella - my only complaint is that I'd have liked it to be longer. 4.5.

[Ruben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very positively surprised to see that Pushkin Press is republishing this 1950 Dutch novella.

It's about the chaotic days just before and just after the German invasion of May 1940. Many believe the country will remain neutral, but seventeen year old Karel craves excitement in his life and is actually looking forward to some bombs to fall... And then he gets what he wished for.

The topic of adolescent boredom is typical of 1950s Dutch literature (and I had to think of Gerard Reve's The Evenings, published in 1947, regularly).

What stands out is the language and the good writing. Kouwenaar was a poet and while the language is kept very simple, you feel every word is perfectly chosen.

The characters are great too - the flamboyant uncle Robert, the Jewish artist Ria. This could have easily developed in a longer work, but I appreciated the restraint and enjoyed reading it in a single, long evening.

The translation is excellent too.

[Gianni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quando la guerra irrompe nella vita quotidiana portando morte e distruzione, ci può essere un momento in cui la percezione di ciò che sta avvenendo è ovattata, rimandata o non chiaramente messa a fuoco. Un momento in cui la ”vita normale” convive con la mostruosità della guerra, il passeggio cittadino continua tra gli echi lontani delle bombe e la normalità resiste pervicacemente all’eccezionalità dell’orrore prima di esserne scalfita e scalzata. Sono immagini che rimbalzano ad oggi, quando la parvenza di una vita quasi normale che fino a qualche mese fa si mostrava a Kiev faceva a pugni con ciò che accadeva a poche centinaia di chilometri, finché non ha manifestato tutta la sua carica distruttiva anche nei quartieri della capitale. È una forma di resistenza interiore borghese, ma anche e soprattutto tutta umana che si oppone finché può. Ed è ciò che succede all’adolescente Karel Ruis, che sta combattendo la sua battaglia per crescere ed emanciparsi e arriva persino a invocare dentro di sé la caduta della bomba che distrugga la sua vecchia vita e lo faccia uscire dal guscio, nei giorni in cui nella sua terra, i Paesi Bassi, inizia l’invasione delle truppe naziste; finché la distruzione e la violenza non lo colpiscono da vicino ed è costretto a risvegliarsi con un diverso punto di vista, reso ancora più atroce dalla bonarietà con cui sono descritti i primi soldati tedeschi incontrati sulla via di casa.
Un libro quasi autobiografico scritto nel 1956 la cui pubblicazione recente in Italia cade proprio a fagiolo.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a short novella about a 17-year-old Karel who is so bored and fed up with all the talk of war, but who can blame him if his family is so unserious, problematic and doesn't care about anything except their problems? Karel then, being a young bored boy, wishes the bombs would fall already, but of course, he could never imagine what it could bring him and what life would become.

I was quite amazed by the language, because even though it's a story with character development, conflicts, and a culmination, it reads like poetry, perhaps even a little bit of epic poetry with a young protagonist as a hero. But the boy is not a hero, but a dramatic human (not in an annoying way). The plot is entirely focused on the boy and his thoughts, happiness, pain, and regrets. The Jewish girl is a part of the plot, but I would say she stays more in the background to underline the boy's feelings. I would say her family is even more important.

And the ending? The phrase was perfectly fitting to summarise the idea. Needless to say, I liked it very much, because it's a fresh look at the beginning of the war and people's ignorant blindness. Please, dear Pushkin Press, translate more classics from other countries. These are amazing.

[Julien L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tombe, bombe ! de Gerrit Kouwenaar se déroule en mai 1940, pendant l’invasion des Pays-Bas. L’histoire est racontée par Karel Ruis, un lycéen de 17 ans.

La guerre arrive d’un coup dans sa vie. Par une mission apparemment banale, transmettre une lettre, et par un premier amour, son monde s’ouvre… puis se referme brutalement.

Ici, pas de héros ni de grandes batailles.
La guerre est une force qui fait basculer l’enfance, qui oblige à grandir trop vite, et qui marque à jamais.

[Buchdoktor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karel Ruis hatte bis vor kurzem noch die kurzen Hosen eines Kindes getragen, als 1940 der Einmarsch der deutschen Wehrmacht in die Niederlande seine Kindheit abrupt beendete. Während der einzelgängerische 17-Jährige austestet, ob seine Mutter dulden wird, von ihm nicht mehr respektvoll mit Sie angesprochen zu werden, deutet sein großspurig wirkender Onkel ihm bereits eine Männerrolle an, in der er Zigaretten und Alkohol konsumieren und bei dem Mahlzeiten stets die größte Portion erhalten wird. Dass nun jeder Tag der letzte sein kann, darauf ist niemand vorbereitet. Das unwirklich wirkende Brummen von Flugzeugen über dem Ort trennt die banalen Ereignisse innerhalb der Familie Ruis von Bombenopfern und Gefangenentransporten in der Außenwelt. Für den Krieg gibt es in Karls Welt noch keine Regeln; mögliche Leitfiguren versagen. Für Karel ist der Krieg zunächst abstrakt und bleibt es selbst dann, als er konkret mit dem Tod konfrontiert wird.

Im Wechsel zwischen Erzählperspektive und Karels Innensicht entfaltet sich auf nur 124 Seiten eine fiktive Geschichte mit autobiografischem Bezug. Gerrit Kouwenaar schrieb die Novelle im Alter von 26 Jahren; er war selbst Zeitzeuge der Kriegsereignisse, die er Karel durch das Filter von Aushängen und Auskünften mitteilt. Zarte Handlungsfäden erzählen in wenigen Sätzen eigene Geschichten – von der Bürgerwehr, zu der Jugendliche sich melden können, der ersten Verliebtheit, konspirativen Briefen, die beim Lesen aus heutiger Sicht eine Gänsehaut hinterlassen, und von Mutter und Tochter, die von einem Tag auf den anderen verschwinden.

Fazit
Ein zeitloser Antikriegstext, durch seine Kürze ideal für die Diskussion in Lesekreisen.

[Jai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking place during the initial days of the German invasion in May 1940, the story follows 17 year old Karel Ruis. A short novella that captures the stolen innocence of growing up in an environment that in hindsight provides deep empathy but in real time for the characters has an almost novelty impact for they lack the severity of what’s happening around them. Not to say that war doesn’t have heavy weight, but in this story Karel is bored with everything around him. He eagerly wants something of interest to occur, which is surprising that a letter he has to deliver from his uncle to a woman becomes his sole source of intrigue over the start of a German invasion.

Oddly funny at times, the writing showcases a fine line of humour and emotionally heavy context within lines. It’s a coming of age story that is incredibly heartbreaking, witty and still demonstrates the desperate discourse a teenager enacts upon themselves in order to feel even an ounce of purpose in their lives. Even if it’s love, drama or delivering a letter.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - Fall, Bomb, Fall

This was nothing like I expected - the most surprising narrative style detailing the inner thoughts of a seventeen year old boy in the Netherlands, just as it's being invaded by the Germans in WW2.

A bored teenager on the cusp of adulthood, he wishes for the bombs to fall. And so they do. But is it everything he'd hoped it would be? Will he ever again see the Jewish girl he's only just met and thinks he's in love with? or his family who are waiting for him to come home? There is no going back, and especially not to the fearless and naive youth he had before.

I've never read another WW2 book like this, and I think that says it all.

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vlot boek over een tiener die midden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog belandt. Het is duidelijk dat Kouwenaar poëtisch begaafd was en er zitten autobiografische details in.

[gemma]

ging echt van 1 naar 100 toe in de laatste 10 pagina's

[Andy Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published in 1950, this has recently been translated into English by the Pushkin Press. The 17 year old protagonist, Karen, of this novel is so bored he wishes for war. The novel takes place over just three days in May 1940. Karel’s Uncle Robert gives him a letter to deliver to a Jewish woman secretly, which he does, and while he waits for the reply the Germans invade.

Based on his own experiences in the war as a teenager, this is an excellent piece of writing that captures the moods of adolescence superbly. Surprisingly, this novel is about joy, and loving life. It’s just too short. The translator’s afterword is interesting and well worth reading, but without that the story is only about 90 pages.

[Dymphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 'Val, Bom', volgt de lezer Karel, een zeventienjarig jongen die eigenlijk wenst dat er oorlog komt en dat er bommen vallen.

Het boek kabbelt redelijk door en ik heb dit klein boekje in een keer kunnen uitlezen. Het was interessant om eens dit perspectief te lezen (begin van de oorlog in Rotterdam), maar ik zal het waarschijnlijk geen tweede keer lezen.

[Lucas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Las primeras 80/90 páginas se me han hecho bola. Me ha costado acostumbrarme al estilo de Kouwenaar, puesto que es muy literal y lo he sentido vacío en muchos momentos.
Sin embargo, sí he disfrutado las últimas 40 páginas, aunque el final me parece muy atropellado (como toda la historia, en realidad).
No me parece que merezca la pena este libro.

[Jacques · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aangrijpende, poëtische deels autobiografische novelle over het begin van W.O.-II en het bombardement op Rotterdam.

[B.]

Ik was er na anderhalve pagina wel klaar mee. Dnf

[Adam]

I'm with the 4* reviews

[Matthew Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful novella set in and around the days of the German invasion of Holland in 1940 and the collapse of Dutch resistance. It's about finding out what war really brings, about growing up fast but still being a child.

[Katy Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unknown to me, fascinating look at WWII from a youth in Europe.

We've all read (or at least heard of) All Quiet on the Western Front, Siegfried Sassoon, a few writers from the World Wars who give the European/German perspective. But here was a new one for me - a 1950's partially autobiographical account of a 17 year old Dutch boy in the early days of WWII.

Seeming so like any other teenager now OR then, Karel is bored. He doesn't really like his family, his studies (though he seems to work hard), he has interests in girls, he wishes Hitler WOULD drop a bomb and liven things up.

Quite the opening, and it could be any teenager now. My own son, even.

The book is short, and quite devastating, as we watch Karel live through the consequences of his own wish coming true. While still being a teenager with hormones and desires and seeing the adults around him, flawed and trying their best in the middle of what he doesn't yet see is a tragic segment of 20th century history.

This was darkly funny, you could empathise with Karel to an extent, though as a mother and 'proper full-on adult' with more than a little perspective on this period in history, I also found his attitude hard to take at times. As I should - this is the narrative of a teenager who doesn't understand the true horror of what's unfolding around him and about to hit him firmly in the middle of his life.

Not one I expected to discover, a really interesting short novel.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this terrific little reprint from Pushkin Press about the Battle of the Netherlands (the four days between Germany invading the Netherlands during WWII and the country capitulating) through the eyes of a bored and vindictive 17 year old boy.

The whole novel takes place during the Battle of the Netherlands - those confusing four days between Germnay invading the country, the hope that the English would come and save them, the reliance on the natural water defenses to repel the invading troops. Karel goes from boyhood to manhood over these days, as he is tasked with delivering a letter from his uncle to the mysterious Mrs Mexocos - his 'source of secret joy'. As he moves through a confised, scared and underprepared city, we see the daily small horrors of war and the terror of the civilians. Mrs Mexocos and her daughhter Ria live a bohemian life in the red light district and Karel falls immediately in love with Ria.

When they flee the country (they are Jewish) Karel is left bereft and even more confused. We witness his movements between the city and the country, as he navigates the disillusion of his youth, and of his country as it realises that it is woefully ill equipped to resist the Germans.

A wonderful little novel and growing up, small resistances, the daily horrors of war, and an interesting little slice of history. It feels timeless, sweet, funny and relatable - almost clsoe to When Hitler Stole Pink Bunny except the character is slightly older. I loved it.

[Kena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fall, Bomb, Fall by Gerrit Kouwenaar, brilliantly translated by Michele Hutchison is a fantastic coming of age novella which authentically captures the feelings and mood bored 17 year old Karel preparing for his school holidays on the cusp of the Nazi occupation in World War II.

Karel is a teenager and still growing and developing, as is his understanding of the world around him. Karel’s thoughts and actions felt very authentic. He hears his parents and people in his town talk of how the English will come and save the Dutch and the Germans will not invade. Karel prays for some drama and in a matter of days he falls in love with a young Jewish girl and bombs fall and Germany invades, whilst being a ‘go-between’ for his uncle delivering a letter.

It’s historical fiction inspired in part by Kouwenaar’s own experiences. The translation notes at the end of the book are well worth reading to discover which aspects of Fall, Bomb, Fall happened to Kowenaar. The notes also provide interesting information on Kowenaar’s life and literary legacy, which I found particularly interesting.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher’s Pushkin Press, for making this e-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a short novella about a 17-year-old Karel who is so bored and fed up with all the talk of war, but who can blame him if his family is so unserious, problematic and doesn't care about anything except their problems? Karel then, being a young bored boy, wishes the bombs would fall already, but of course, he could never imagine what it could bring him and what life would become.

I was quite amazed by the language, because even though it's a story with character development, conflicts, and a culmination, it reads like poetry, perhaps even a little bit of epic poetry with a young protagonist as a hero. But the boy is not a hero, but a dramatic human (not in an annoying way). The plot is entirely focused on the boy and his thoughts, happiness, pain, and regrets. The Jewish girl is a part of the plot, but I would say she stays more in the background to underline the boy's feelings. I would say her family is even more important.

And the ending? The phrase was perfectly fitting to summarise the idea. Needless to say, I liked it very much, because it's a fresh look at the beginning of the war and people's ignorant blindness. Please, dear Pushkin Press, translate more classics from other countries. These are amazing.

[em · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and entertaining insight into a teenage boy’s experience of the first few days of WWII. The translation was fantastic, I feel like the subtle humour came across very well. The book itself was a little all over the place in terms of plot and characterisation, bur still an intriguing read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #FallBombFall #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Steve Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short book that tells the story of a young man during the German invasion of the Netherlands in he 2nd WW. Elegant effective writing. Really enjoyable.