In a Dark Wood
ABOUT
THE BOOK
At the end of the Second World War, Jacob Noah emerges from the hole in the ground where he has been hiding for three years, to find that his parents and brother have perished at the hands of the Nazis. Setting himself up as a shoemaker in the Dutch town of Assen, Noah expands his business until he has become the most influential entrepreneur in the city. But nothing can console him for the loss of his family and the tragedy of history. In June 1980, a despairing Noah sets off on a journey into the depths of his soul. Guided by a shabby, supernatural pedlar calling himself the ‘Jew of Assen’, he descends into the smoky heart of the town, a man-made hell modelled on Dis, the city in Dante’s Inferno.
ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Shaun
Whiteside
Shaun Whiteside is a literary translator. Originally from Northern Ireland, he graduated with a First in Modern Languages from King’s College, Cambridge, and translates from German, French, Italian and Dutch, having previously worked as a business journalist and television producer.
Shaun Whiteside is a literary translator. Originally from Northern Ireland, he graduated with a First in Modern Languages from King’s College, Cambridge, and translates from German, French, Italian and Dutch, having previously worked as a business journalist and television producer.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
A intellectual novel with many interesting literary borrowings.
An awe-inspiring book, written in language that moves, even during humiliating moments, conveying the vacuity of the human condition.