The Portrait
Willem Jan Otten, translated by David Colmer
Winner of the Libris Prize 2005 — the Netherlands' prestigious literary award
Winner of the Constantijn Huygensprize
'This little novella by renowned Dutch poet, playwright and essayist Willem Jan Otten is one of the strangest and more enchanting works I have come across in some time ... While the work operates partly as a meditation on the act of creation, the extraordinary twin stories of love, desire and betrayal that carry it are revealed with the skill and timing of a psychological thriller. It poses questions for the reader at every turn and constantly surprises with the secrets it withholds, even to the last page ... This translation by awardwinning David Colmer makes a remarkable and intriguing work available in English.'
Liam Davison (Weekend Australian)'This is a magic and immensely enjoyable novel. Otten displays tremendous skill in creating this book which is both believable and absorbing.'
(Courier Mail)'An elegant and absorbing meditation on art and life, deception and revelation.'
Cameron Woodhead (The Age)If you, like me, come into the world white and completely blank, with nothing on you at all, you are totally dependent on what they make of you.
The Portrait is an ingenious novel from one of Holland’s greatest living writers. Reminiscent of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, it is narrated by a canvas — a key eye-witness to, and participant in, an extraordinary story.
A young painter, loved for his fine and true-to-life portraits, receives a commission that is unlike any he’s had before: make a portrait of a dead boy. ‘You will save a life with it’, says the boy’s extremely rich father. The painter knows he will have to surpass himself. He takes on the job. But who was the boy? Why is he dead? Why, when the painting is finished, does the father not come to collect it? And why does the artist undertake this painting?
The Portrait is a thrilling novel about the desire to bring someone into the world. But it is also about love and death, betrayal and trust, and truth and falsehood.
In a breathtaking feat, Willem Jan Otten plays with secrets and riddles that the reader can only unravel at the very end. Masterfully translated by the award-winning David Colmer, Otten here demonstrates his rare gifts to English readers for the first time.
'The expertly written story keeps the reader captivated till the last page and is very well translated by David Colmer.'
(Holland Focus)'Willem Jan Otten surpasses himself ... His new novel sings in places, more than I have ever heard before. Not Gregorian chants but Ottenorian. Read this book with your ears wide open.'
(Vrij Nederland)'...a novel that in the end encourages you to believe but also to think, as is the intention of literature.'
(NRC Handelsblad)'The crowning of Otten’s cleverly constructed novel will not have disappointed anyone… a brilliant creation story.'
(Trouw)'This new novel is once again confirmation of Otten's great talent.'
(Nederlands Dagblad)'Otten recounts an exciting story.The different plots weave cleverly together and quite often the twists in the story surprise the reader....Otten connects in a very clever way the creation of art with the creation of life.'
(Parool)Willem Jan Otten
Author photo
Annaleen Louwes
Willem Jan Otten, who was born in 1951, is a multi-award-winning Dutch poet, essayist, playwright, and novelist. His novel The Portrait, published in Holland as Specht en zoon (‘Specht and Son’) was awarded that country’s prestigious literary award, the Libris Literary Prize, in 2005.
David Colmer
David Colmer was born in Adelaide in 1960. Since moving to Amsterdam in the early 1990s, he has published a wide range of translations of Dutch literature. He is also a published author of fiction, and in 2009 was awarded the biennial NSW Premier's Translation Prize.
Extent: 192pp
Size: 215mm x 138mm
ISBN (13): 9781921372469
RRP: $27.95
Pub date: September 2009
Status: Out of print
ANZ, English-language translation
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