War and Turpentine


War and Turpentine is a 2013 novel by Belgian author Stefan Hertmans, originally published by De Bezige Bij. It is a novel about his grandfather, the artist Urbain Martien, during World War I. Hertmans says he based it on the notebooks his grandfather gave him in 1981. It was translated into English by David McKay and published by Pantheon Books in the US and by Harvill Secker in the UK. It has been translated in twenty languages so far. By 2015, the Dutch version had sold over 200,000 copies. It was longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize in 2017.

Synopsis

The work of historical fiction reconstructs the life of the narrator’s grandfather, Urbain Martien, before, during and after the First World War – as parts 1, 2 and 3 of the book. The narrator opens with a framing device, purporting to draw upon recollections in notebooks left him by the grandfather. in 1922, but the union lacks the affection Urbain had known with Maria Emielia. Urbain continues as a devoted artist into early retirement and until his death. The grandson, the narrator, visits sites in West Flanders and reviews personal archival materials, in an attempt to understand, even reconstruct, something of his grandfather's life experiences.

Reception

It was named one of the 10 Best Books of 2016 by The New York Times Book Review. It was also included in the list of Books of the Year from The Economist The review in the Guardian called it a "future classic" and compared it to the works of W. G. Sebald, as did the NYT Book Review.
The Irish Times gave it a less favourable review, calling it "an important work" but negatively comparing the "somewhat flat and toneless" prose to that of W. G. Sebald and calling it "less convincing artistically".

Awards

Translations

  • Min bedstefars himmel, Danish, 2014, translated by Birthe Lundsgaard, People's Press
  • Krig og terpentin, Norwegian, 2014, translated by Hedda Vormeland, Pax
  • Rat i terpentin, Serbian, 2014, translated by Ivana Šćepanović, Heliks
  • Guerre et térébenthine, French, 2015, translated by Isabelle Rosselin, Gallimard
  • Guerra e trementina, Italian, 2015, translated by Laura Pignatti, Marsilio
  • Der Himmel meines Großvaters, German, 2015, translated by Ira Wilhelm, Hanser Verlag
  • Wojny i terpentyna, Polish, 2015, translated by Alicja Oczko, Marginesy
  • Japanese translation, 2015
  • Vojna in terpentin, Slovenian, 2015, translated by Staša Pavlović, Studentska zalozba
  • Krig of terpentin, Swedish, 2015, translated by Ingrid Wikén Bonde, Norstedts
  • War and Turpentine, English, 2016, translated by David McKay
  • Oorlog en terpentyn, Afrikaans, 2016, translated by Daniel Hugo, Protea Boekhuis
  • Háború és terpentin, Hungarian, 2016, translated by Miklós Fenyves, Európa
  • Croatian version, 2016, translated by Romana Perečinec, Fraktura