The Book of Doubt
ABOUT
THE BOOK
Even though he is the son of a Dutch mother, Saeed has a Moroccan first name in memory of the virtuoso oud player his mother fell in love with twenty years ago. When she found out she was pregnant, he ran off and returned to Morocco. Saeed decides to look for his father, in the hope of finding a new identity in a new world.
His childhood friend Hassan accompanies him. Back then they shared an imaginary land which they both ruled. Now they only have one starting point – a grocery shop in Fez. From there they follow the trail of the oud player, who leads them from the cedar woods of Ifrane to the red dunes of the desert to the high Atlas, where Kasbahs are locked in a losing battle with decay. Saeed’s search sends him deeper into disillusionment and into the arms of Islam, where he tries to find something to hold on to. But there is a disturbing presence. A seemingly fictitious character from their imaginary past infiltrates Saeed’s quest. While Saeed desperately tries to get rid of him, different aspects of his life, more and more beyond his control, reach an apotheosis resulting in one final deed affecting man and beast alike.
ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Brian
Doyle
Brian Doyle was born in Scotland in 1956 and is currently a professor at the University of Leuven in Belgium. In addition to teaching, he has translated a wide variety of books from Dutch and Flemish into English. In addition to the Pieter Van In Mysteries, his recent book projects include Jef Geeraerts’s The Public Prosecutor (2009), Jacqueline van Maarsen’s Inheriting Anne Frank (2010), Christiaan Weijts’s The Window Dresser (2009), Tessa de Loo’s The Book of Doubt (2011), Paul Glaser’s Dancing with the Enemy (2013), and Bob Van Laerhoven’s Baudelaire’s Revenge (2014). He also translates poetry and literary nonfiction.
Brian Doyle was born in Scotland in 1956 and is currently a professor at the University of Leuven in Belgium. In addition to teaching, he has translated a wide variety of books from Dutch and Flemish into English. In addition to the Pieter Van In Mysteries, his recent book projects include Jef Geeraerts’s The Public Prosecutor (2009), Jacqueline van Maarsen’s Inheriting Anne Frank (2010), Christiaan Weijts’s The Window Dresser (2009), Tessa de Loo’s The Book of Doubt (2011), Paul Glaser’s Dancing with the Enemy (2013), and Bob Van Laerhoven’s Baudelaire’s Revenge (2014). He also translates poetry and literary nonfiction.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
The Book of Doubt takes on many contemporary themes: clash between religions, displacement, and migration. Together with the search for identity, it is a great novel.