The Twin

by Gerbrand Bakker

Book Overview

When his twin brother is killed in a car accident, Helmer is obliged to give up university to take over his brother's role on the small family farm, resigning himself to spending the rest of his days "with his head under a cow." The novel begins thirty years later with Helmer moving his invalid father upstairs out of the way, so that he can redecorate the downstairs, finally making it his own. Then Riet, the woman who had once been engaged to marry...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1935744046
• ISBN13: 9781935744047
• Release Date: July 2010
• Publisher: Archipelago Books
• Length: 343 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 7.1"

Customer Reviews

Jazz at night from a radio in the corner

Like many other literary prize winners, The Twin focus on internal changes and awakenings rather than plot. This elegant novel translated from original Dutch was the winner of the Dublin Literary Award, among other prizes. It traces the self realization of Helmer who 37 years after the death of Henk, the more popular twin, the "live" half of the personality the two shared, is mucking the barn, milking the cows, tending the sheep and caring for his dying father, the life that Henk was supposed to inherit. Helmer was the student, a future that was cut off by Henk's death. Once set in motion, changes occur realatively quickly for Helmer, resulting in surprising realizations and a very atypical resolution. It is filled with beautiful images of life in a Dutch countryside, and quite heavily saturated with symbolism.

Unexpected pageturner

I never thought that a story about a middle-aged man living on a farm with his dying father could be a page-turner, but here it is! Mainly it's Bakker's voice (and Colmer's fantastic translation) that pulls the reader into Helmer's world as he walks around the farm, remembering the past, not really regretting but definitely questioning the events that derailed his planned life and turned him into his twin's substitute. At the same time, the past comes back in form of Riet and of his father's former farmhand to lessen the hurt. Although Helmer tries to be a simple man, he is clearly a complicated soul whose thoughts tell the reader of his emotional life even though he doesn't always see it himself. I can only describe it as a lyrical story, even though I would usually use the word "lyrical" to describe something written in a more poetic language and this is written in "normal" prose, but still gives an almost dreamlike and yet engaging feeling.

Well paced, beautifully written book

I just finished reading this, and wow, what a treasure! The author and translator have done a lovely job of bringing this story alive and accessible to those of us that didn't read the original Dutch publication. If you're looking around for a beautiful, timeless story of love, loss, and rebirth, I highly recommend this book.