A. F. Th. van der Heijden
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A.F.Th. van der Heijden was born in 1951 in Geldrop, the Netherlands. He initially studied psychology and philosophy in Nijmegen but after moving to Amsterdam he turned to writing. His first two books appeared under the pseudonym Patrizio Canaponi: the short story collection Een gondel in de Herengracht ("A Gondola in the Herengracht", 1978, Anton Wachter Prize, 1979) and the novel De draaideur ("The Revolving Door", 1979). Van der Heijden then began publishing under his own name in the 80s.
This Dutch writer is the author of one of the most controversial books in contemporary Dutch and European literature: De slag om de Blauwbrug ("Battle at the Blue Bridge"). This book is focused on the events surrounding the coronation of Queen Beatrix at April 30, 1980. The whole event is seen through the eyes of social reject and ex-convict who is walking in the streets of Amsterdam at that particular day. He witnesses violent clashes between police and anti-monarchist anarchist squatters who provoke riots during the coronation, protesting against poor housing conditions and using the occasion to tackle the institution of monarchy and the idea of government authority in general. The novel's main character is only observing the brutal clashes without participating or taking sides. The riots cause flashbacks to the important political events into his memory: from the Vietnam war to the R.A.F. terrorist attacks in the 70s.
This book is seen by many sociologists as a founding stone for a growing anti-monarchist spirit in Netherlands, which since the mid 80s has left university campuses and intellectual clubs and made its way into the programs of many well-established political organisations, including the country's second largest party, the socialist PvdA. Many European critics also saw the book as a closing chapter to the idea's of Sixties and Flower power generation in Europe.
This book is the prologue to De tandeloze tijd ("The Toothless Time"), a seven-volume saga about Amsterdam in the seventies and eighties which won international fame to A.F.Th van der Heijden, or A.F.Th. as he is called among book lovers.
Van der Heijden's books have been translated into English, German, Russian, Japanese and most European languages.
[edit] Recent publications:
- Het hof van barmhartigheid ("The Court of Mercy"; De tandeloze tijd, volume 3-I)
- Onder het plaveisel het moeras ("Under the Pavement the Morass"; De tandeloze tijd, volume 3-II)
- De Movo tapes ("The Movo Tapes"; Homo duplex, volume 0)
- Drijfzand koloniseren ("Colonizing quicksand", 2006)
See also: Official site
