|
''Hedonia'' is a novel by the Dutch author Kees van Kooten. The book was published by De Bezige Bij in 1984.〔(Entry for Hedonia ) at (WorldCat )〕 In this novel, we follow a writer that never leaves his house. His wife is in (York City ) interviewing the director/actor Woody Allen. The writer soon notices how difficult it is to find his niche without his wife. == Plot == Writer Kees van Kooten is at home. His children are at school and his wife is in New York. She has an appointment to interview the American comedian/director and actor Woody Allen. The wife of Van Kooten, Barbara is a translator and has translated some of Woody Allen's scripts. Although he lives in a house that is packed with books and records, Van Kooten cannot find his niche. He misses his wife and secretly afraid that Woody Allen with sleep with Barbara. He is also aware that Allen is known as a womanizer. Van Kooten communicates his fears to no one. His children are still young and know little about the American. As Van Kooten rents as video tape of the movie Take the Money and Run by Woody Allen, his children interpret the humor of the movie as 'annoying'. Van Kooten himself is a fan of Woody Allen's movies and once wrote an article about the American comic. On the one hand, he is proud that his wife is going to interview Woody Allen, on the other hand he views him as a threat. About midway through the novel, Frans, an old friend from school, comes for to visit and has a polaroid with him. In the photo Woody Allen is seen at the table with Barbara. Van Kooten is immediately jealous and he develops an entire story around the interview between his wife and Woody Allen. When Barbara returns dead tired from her trip and plops into bed, the writer cannot restrain his impatience and asks her if she slept with Allen. Barbara then gives him the answer: "Would you like that?". As Van Kooten sits at home and nothing happens, his thoughts slide away to his youth in The Hague. He muses about the performances of Wim Kan and his ABC-cabaret where he went with his parents in the fifties and returns to thinking about the confrontation between Wim Kan and Rudi Carrell during the The Beatles's Blokker performances in 1964. The arrival of his old friend Frans briefly interrupts his periods of inactivity. Frans is actually no true friend. Kees van Kooten still knows him from his time in high school. Frans went to Nijenrode and has revealed himself as a selfish man who only pursues pleasure. His stories are full of cocaine usage, volatile sex and brainless entertainment. He has contempt for his old father who is in the hospital and is surly to Van Kooten's children. Finally, Frans has been so shaken that he takes his dogs for a walk. He then meets Van Kooten's children. At last Frans meets Ms. 't H, his neighbor. Van Kooten is busy translating some of the Mazdaznan texts for Ms. 't H so that it can be ready to be published. The deceased husband of his neighbour was a follower of this movement. She then gives him some additional material. Barbara returns shortly thereafter and sees that Van Kooten's life can be normal again. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hedonia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|