Summary of The TwinsÂ
“The Twins” tells the story of two twin sisters who were separated at age six following the death of their parents. Anna remained in their native Germany, enduring a harsh upbringing on their uncle’s farm near the Teutoburg Forest. She later moved to Cologne and married an Austrian soldier, who did not outlive World War II. Lotte, on the other hand, grew up in a privileged and progressive environment in Gooi, the Netherlands, eventually marrying a Jewish violin maker. The Second World War left both sisters deeply scarred and caused them to lose contact. Decades later, in 1990, now in their seventies, they accidently reunite in a thermal institute in Spa, in the Belgian Ardennes, and share their life stories with one another.
Reasons to read The Twins
“The Twins” is considered a masterpiece of Dutch literature, chronicling the experiences of two women during World War II and the impact of the war on their later lives. The framework narrative is set in Spa, Belgium, with the two sisters recounting their lives in Germany and the Netherlands. This novel is the best-known novel of Dutch author Tessa de Loo. It was an international bestseller and won the Trouw Book of the Year award (Trouw Publieksprijs) in 1994. “The Twins” was later adapted into a Dutch-language film (“De Tweeling”), directed by Ben Sombogaart, in 2002.
Setting: Spa (Belgium); Gooi, The Hague (the Netherland); Cologne (Germany)
Original title: De tweeling
Year of publication: 1993
Nr of pages: 392
