Summary of The Coming of Joachim StillerÂ
The quiet life of Freek Groenevelt, a journalist from Antwerp, Belgium, is disturbed by a series of events he does not understand. It begins with a letter from a certain Joachim Stiller, bizarrely posted before Groenevelt was even born. To his astonishment, Joachim Stiller turns out be the name of a 16th-century author who wrote about the end of times. Groenevelt sets out on an investigation, together with Simone Marijnissen, a publicist who becomes his girlfriend. Together, they manage to connect Stiller to a traumatic event during the Second World War, when Groenevelt narrowly escaped death and witnessed an American soldier being killed by a V2 bomb hitting the tram he had just missed.
Reasons to read The Coming of Joachim StillerÂ
“The Coming of Joachim Stiller” paints a vivid portrayal of Antwerp during the 1950s, including the traumas the inhabitants faced as a result of their wartime experiences. The novel is a work of magical realism, blending supernatural phenomena with real events thus blurring the borders between reality and speculation. Hubert Lampo was a renowned Flemish author, known for his magic realism novels. “The Coming of Joachim Stiller” is considered a classic of Flemish literature.
Setting: Antwerp (Belgium)
Original title: De komst van Joachim Stiller
Year of publication: 1960
Nr of pages: 198
