Netherland
Joseph O'Neill
4th Estate
Hans van den Broek, is a Dutch-born equities analyst who lives in New York with his English born wife Rachel, and their son. The events of 9/11 forces them to move uptown to the run down Chelsea hotel and here, their marriage slowly begins to unravel.
There are many levels to this book, all of them seamlessly melting and shifting into one another. On one level its the story of Hans, his pain of being separated from his family, and his inner yearning to again a sense of belonging in this fast shifting world. On the other hand its a story of cricket, its followers and the passion it invokes in the heart of its participants.
Hans partially finds solace from his loneliness in the group of largely West Indian cricket players. He befriends Chuck Ramkissoon- a West Indian entrepreneur with dubious business dealing and grand ambitions to open New York's first world class cricket stadium. Unfortunately for Chuck his cricket plans don’t pan out, and he vanishes under murky and ultimately grisly circumstances.
I will confess I have a lot of trouble with this book. The narrative often veering on a tangent, left me bereft and confused. On the other hand I can appreciate original work and to O'Neill's great credit, Netherland is a truly original. His narrative deftly holds a mirror to our modern life. And closely observed, it reveals at times the dark, the insecure and increasingly disfranchised aspects of our society. 4 stars
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