Writing to a god seems a presumptuous thing. Who are we, feeble mortal creatures whose lives pass in the blink of an eye, to address the great immortal deities?
The Dutch writer Cees Nooteboom, now entering his ninth decade and never knowingly lacking in chutzpah, is not one to be deterred by such considerations.
Nooteboom is an immensely civilised and civilising writer, rich in curiosity and armed with a dazzling literary style. Those who already know his writing will not be surprised to discover that on the page, if not in the briny, he is more than a match for the trident-bearing earth-shaker, god of the sea.
Notionally written every autumn to request the god’s permission to return to his home in Minorca the following year, this collection of 23 letters, superbly translated by Laura Watkinson, takes the reader on an engrossing journey across continents, through museums, galleries and airports, in bars and gardens, on beaches and park benches.
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