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Une Catastrophe Naturelle (2005)

by Margriet de Moor(Favorite Author)

3.37 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

2264053046 (ISBN13: 9782264053046)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Libella Maren Sell

review 1: “They looked alike. Everyone thought so. They were tall girls with narrow, strong shoulders, always a little bent, which gave them a worried appearance that was quite misleading. And if they had turned round at that moment the double portrait would really have been striking: dark hair, almost chestnut-black, falling smoothly down their backs, exposing delicate little ears, and cut in a straight fringe that concealed the forehead completely. Nobody would ever see their foreheads. But everything could be read in the two pairs of eyes: merriment, sadness, mockery, indifference, passion, and also the speed of their shifting moods, yet what conveyed itself most clearly was that the two sisters appeared to see the world in exactly the same way, and to judge it.”Lidy a... morend Armanda are sisters. Lidy, 23, is married with a young daughter, and Armanda is just 18 and somehow manages to persuade her sister to exchange lives for a day. Lidy leaves for Zeeland to attend a birthday party, Armanda stays in Amsterdam to look after Nadja and Sjoerd. How are they to know that this is the very night of the storm of 31 January 1953 that would sweep away “1,836 people, 120,000 animals, and 772 square miles of land at one stroke”?“The sound of a storm defies words. Or rather, the effect it has. The world makes noises. There isn’t a moment of peace in which it isn’t creaking or rustling or banging or talking and uttering every possible nuance of a lament until sometimes it even sings. Some of these noises can wait a little, but others are absolutely urgent.”It is an odd feeling, reading this book.The chapters alternate between present and past of sorts. The music of Lidy’s story is slow, gradual, as she awaits the storm, the flood. The time ticks by slowly as the floodwaters rise, and her fate looms. The chapters with Armanda stride on briskly, first it is just as the storm hits, then the aftermath and the tragedy, and then 18 months later at Lidy’s memorial service.I suppose that is the intention. For you to grieve along with Armanda and the rest of the loved ones, then be struck as you return in the next chapter to Lidy waiting for the flood, high up in that attic room, knowing there is nothing she or anyone else can do. As a result, your heart is pulled towards Lidy waiting her death. But Armanda’s life too has changed, she has outlived her sister, but feels haunted by her presence:“Do you know what I sometimes still think? Lidy’s just gone for a day, and she’s relying on me to live her life for her, all organized and proper, and that’s exactly what I’m damn well doing.”The Storm, or De Verdronkene, was an emotional, unforgettable read.
review 2: Translated from Dutch by Carol Brown Janeway, The Storm isn't quite the storm that you might think it should be based on the book name. Sisters Armanda and Lidy decide to trade places and go to events that the other had already made plans to go. Sounds like the classic tale of twins trading places, right?Well, not really. While they do look very much alike, Armanda and Lidy are several years apart. Lidy is married and has a toddler. Armanda is 18; and she really wants to go to the party that Lidy is going to. She convinces Lidy to attend the birthday party of her god-child on an island several hours away even though Lidy doesn't really know anyone there. Thus the switch is made. And again you think, it is the classic tale of twins trading places. But no, everyone knows of the switch - there is no trick, there is no sneaking. The switch is made in the bright and open gaze of daylight. So begins the story of the switch and the death of Lidy Blaauw. In a cosmic confluence of events, a massive storm rises up, all of the levies break, the people responsible for the levies are away and the island that Lidy is visiting is literally swept away of all people, animals and buildings.The story is told chapter by chapter switching between Armanda and Lidy. Armanda, Sjoerd (Lidy's husband) and the rest of the family try to understand what happened to Lidy and try to come to terms with her death throughout the book. Armanda gets married, has children, gets divorced and never fully lives her life because she feels she is trying to live for both herself and Lidy. While Armanda and the rest of Lidy's family live out their lives, Lidy on the other hand, tells the story of the greatest natural disaster ever to hit the Netherlands and her infinitesimal part in it. Chapter by chapter her death is drawn out to the very end of the book even though you know she is dead and despite the fact that everyone else has moved on.This was a very interesting way to write the book, one group of people living on for years, the other one dead but still telling her story till the very end of the book when finally Armanda and Lidy's voices are mingled together. I thought the book was interesting, but it wasn't gripping. It just didn't have enough power, enough oomph to really catch my attention and keep it day after day. I know this is why it took me forever to read this book! To be fair, the New York Times book review gave it a much better review than I have. For me, if I run across another of her books, I'll probably give it a shot as I always try to give an author at least two tries. less

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