Will: Jeroen Olyslaegers - Hardcover

Jeroen Olyslaegers

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1782274243 ISBN 13: 9781782274247

Publisher: Pushkin Press, 2019

Synopsis

'A masterful book, a gripping epic, necessary and gorgeously written' -- Stefan Hertmans, author of War and Turpentine.

THE TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

A FINANCIAL TIMES TRANSLATED FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

AN OBSERVER BEST BOOK OF 2019

It is 1941, and Antwerp is in the grip of Nazi occupation. Wilfried Wils, novice policeman and frustrated writer, has no intention of being a hero. He just wants to keep his head down; to pretend the fear and violence around him aren't happening.

But war has a way of catching up with people. When his idealistic best friend draws him into the growing resistance movement, and an SS commander tries to force him into betraying his fellow policemen, Wilfried's loyalties become horribly, fatally torn. Should he comply, or fight back? As the beatings, destruction and round-ups intensify across the city, he is forced into an act that will shatter his life and, years later, have consequences he could never have imagined.

A searing portrayal of a man trying to survive amid the treachery, compromises and moral darkness of occupation, Will asks what any of us would do to stay alive.

About this title

Review

'A brilliant, morally complex creation... in a fine translation... a compelling read' -- Bart van Es, Observer Best Books of 2019

'A masterful book, a gripping epic, necessary and gorgeously written' -- Stefan Hertmans, author of War and Turpentine

'I loved this book. Will is a vivid, complex, and captivating novel about the grubby moral compromises of life under occupation' -- Bart van Es, author of The Cut Out Girl

'What do you do if evil invades your city?... Olyslaegers, a Flemish author whose grandfather was a Nazi collaborator, is masterly in probing the moral quandaries of collaboration. This is historical fiction at its best: provocative, uncomfortable and illuminating' -- The Times, Historical Fiction Book of the Month

'Constantly grapples with what the ordinary man might do when faced with a horror so huge that to resist might threaten his very survival. Olyslaegers bravely explores moral compromise, betrayal and collaboration - and throws our polarised times into sharp relief' -- Observer

'A vital and endlessly frightening question: under the cosh of an occupier, who among us would actually risk our lives or livelihoods for the sake of principle, or a fellow citizen?... It is Will's inner darkness that drives this book, and it lends a ferocious energy to the narration... Olyslaegers seems intent on pulling the scales from our eyes' -- Guardian

A lyrical meditation on guilt and evil' -- De Tijd

'A book that manages to cause this degree of disquiet is a classic. Such a book belongs on the shelf next to Louis Paul Boon and Hugo Claus' -- De Standaard (five stars)

'A violently atmospheric novel... asks the big, implicating questions about the shadowy terrain of appeasement' -- Daily Mail

'An important and confrontational book in which the past continues to resonate with the present, in a style sharp as a razor' -- NRC Handelsblad (five stars)

'I couldn't recommend Will more highly, and I suspect we might hear quite a bit more from Olyslaegers' -- Giles McDonogh

'A book like a slap in the face' -- De Morgen

'A dark story about the dangers of herd mentality' -- Metro

'Will is suited to a time when people can remain apolitical only by hiding from politics' -- Financial Times

'This powerful novel proves that, despite the overwhelming amount of war literature available, valuable additions are still possible' -- De Volkskrant

'This inventive author grabbed me with his bold, appealing images and furiously paced scenes' -- De Groene Amsterdammer

'Introduces an original, fresh perspective on a period that seems to have been written to death' -- Knack

Captivating... addictive reading, and offering a new perspective on a period of history whose disasters still sadly echo in our day and age... novel well worth reading' -- Thriller Books Journal

'Will's earthy yet lyrical language is masterly. Jeroen Olyslaegers's best novel' -- De Tijd

'A solid blow to your fiercely beating reader's heart. Pass the word: read Jeroen Olyslaegers' -- Bart Van Loo

'Without doubt one of the year's best Flemish novels' -- Het Nieuwsblad

About the Author

Jeroen Olyslaegers (b. 1967) writes columns, plays and prose. With his previous novels We (2009) and Profit (2012) he made a comeback in Dutch literature. In 2014 he was awarded the Ark Prize for the Free Word for his work and his social engagement, and the Edmond Hustinx Prize for his theatre work. Will won four major prizes in the Netherlands and Flanders and is the first of his books to be translated into English. Olyslaegers lives and works in Antwerp.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pushkin Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1782274243
• ISBN 13: 9781782274247
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352