Katia N’s Reviews > Chapel Road > Status Update
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Be yourself, but learn from this that ideals go to pot through your fault and mine, but most of all through the fault of those who invented idealism in order to make some money out of it.
— Oct 26, 2025 08:51AM
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Katia N
is 33% done
someone who said he wasn’t going to buy your book before he’d read the reviews in the papers. No, that’s not how he put it, before WE have read the reviews in the papers. As if personality was the last shred of a worn rag: We, the united pedants, who have no personal opinion about your books, wait till the reviews have given you at least 6 out of 10.
— Oct 28, 2025 02:19PM
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Ilse
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rated it 4 stars
Oct 27, 2025 06:09AM
Excited that you are reading this, and looking forward to your thoughts, dear Katia! Coincidentally, I listened to a podcast yesterday in which the 'untranslatability' of Boon's Flemish was discussed - not into English, but into 'Dutch Dutch' :).
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Ilse wrote: "Excited that you are reading this, and looking forward to your thoughts, dear Katia! Coincidentally, I listened to a podcast yesterday in which the 'untranslatability' of Boon's Flemish was discuss..."I liked it a lot so far, dear Ilse. I like how meta it is, sense of humour and even the gothic feel/realism of the story within the story. It is an enjoyable read. Especially am reading it straight after I struggled through a Kraznokhorkai's Seiobo which was unnecessary dense for what it was:-) But I am sure a a lot of this novel would be inevitably lost to me in translation. I can see how the translator tries to pay attention and almost invent some slang. But I do not expect it will work successfully. I would guess in the original there is a certain musicality and the contrast between Flemish and Dutch Dutch. But in is not there for obvious reasons. She tries some words like 'lassies" for girls, but I am sure it is not enough.
Still there is a lot to enjoy even without it. I like especially his sense of humour and his depiction of his friends. And I am not sure yet where he is going with his novel:-)
