Belgium (Dutch)
215
Franck, Ed (adapt.)
Cneut, Carll (illus.)
Te veel verdriet voor één hart (Too much grief for just one heart)
Leuven: Davidsfonds/Literair, 2008. – 334 p.
ISBN 978-90-6306-574-4
Shakespeare, William – Tragedy
This is a prose adaptation of
the four most important tragedies of William Shakespeare (»Macbeth«, »King
Lear«, »Othello«, and »Hamlet«), in which themes of life, death, love, and
hate play important roles. Furthermore, we encounter motives like revenge,
disloyalty, and striving for power. Ed Franck has succeeded in transposing
the famous plays into modern prose that is very read-able and stays true to
Shakespeare’s characteristic use of language. Just like in the original
works, the stories have a compelling dramatic structure. At the beginning of
every story, the characters are introduced by means of beautiful and
expressive full-page illustrations. Since the tragedies are not easily
accessible in their original version, this prose adaptation could help young
people as well as adults to (re)-discover theses timeless classics. This
book is extremely well designed. (15+)
216
Moors, Silvie / Gouwy, Lieven (adapt./music)
Vervaeke, Geert (illus.)
Pinokkio. Een muzikaal verhaal (Pinocchio. A musical tale)
Tielt: Lannoo, 2008. – [34] p. + 1 CD
ISBN 978-90-209-7989-3
Puppet – Disobedience – Odyssey
This is a wonderful
interpretation of Carlo Collodi’s famous work. The basic elements –
characters, setting, and plot – of the classic story, first published in
1883, are taken into account. The rest is clearly new, but draws its
inspiration from Collodi’s text. An accompanying CD features twenty-four
songs, which complement the text very nicely and offer much listening
pleasure. Since only part of the story is included in the book, it only
really comes to life when it is read while listening to the songs, which
tell the whole story. Special illustrations, made using a stamp technique,
round off the reading and listening experience. The authors have done a
great job with this very special (audio-)book, which offers hours of fun to
readers and listeners. (7+)
217
Tilstra, Harm
Onderwereld (Underworld)
Hasselt: Clavis, 2008. – 128 p.
(Levensecht)
ISBN 978-90-448-0934-3
Friendship – Otherness – Individuality – Death
Warinder, crying with grief,
winds up on a desolate peninsula and becomes friends with Yureck, the son of
a gravedigger and the keeper of the graveyard. Together, they build a hut,
while humming Bach, Mozart, and Schubert. Every time the clock strikes, they
go inside and see a strange funeral procession led by a man with wolf eyes.
One night, after Yureck’s father has told them about the dead, Warinder
sneaks to the graveyard, where he meets with dead people and listens to
their stories. This atmospheric and philosophical story is written in
precise poetic language. It is full of symbolism, deeper layers of meaning
and peculiar, archetypal characters. Written for more experienced readers,
this novel undertakes a quest for the essence of existence.
(14+)
218
Verhelst, Peter (adapt.)
Cneutt, Carll (illus.)
Het geheim van de keel van de nachtegaal. Naar »De nachtegaal« van H. C. Andersen
(The secret of the nightingale’s throat. After H. C. Andersen’s »The nightingale«)
Wielsbeeke: De Eenhoorn, 2008. – 64 p.
ISBN 978-90-5838-507-9
Music – Freedom – Fairytale
A Chinese emperor has a dream
of a new imperial garden to top all gardens. A simple gardener succeeds in
making this dream reality. When the emperor hears a nightingale, he decides
that music also has to be part of his garden. The bird is willing to sing,
but he is also wilful. His music is unique, but untameable, and it remains
unclear if the emperor will succeed in having the nightingale obey his
wishes. This beautiful picture book is based on H. C. Andersen’s well-known
fairy tale. Peter Verhelst interprets Andersen’s story in elegant, lyrical
sentences and vivid images. His prose creates an enchanting rhythm and
explores the magic of the repeated epithet. Carll Cneut catches the
marvellous story in poetic illustrations (such as the one depicting the
wealth of Chinese decorative art), ranging from festive exuberant colours to
mysterious night black and dark blue. (6+)