Double party for Martijn Couwenhoven from Oevers publishing house in Zaandam. He has been publishing translations of the books by Norwegian writer Jon Fosse for years. And that Jon Fosse has now won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Couwenhoven also saw the demand for the Lupine translations increase after the third season started on Netflix.
It came as a surprise to Couwenhoven that Norwegian writer Jon Fosse won the Nobel Prize for Literature yesterday afternoon: “Even though he has been nominated for years, and is often mentioned as a contender.”
Couwenhoven says that the winner is always announced at 1 p.m. “I was ready at 12.55 pm and thought: if he doesn’t win, I will continue with my work. If he does win, then I have to prepare new prints.” Couwenhoven said he went to make some coffee and at 1:05 p.m. he had already received all kinds of texts and emails. “And then I thought: incredible!”
Being human as a common thread
Couwenhoven describes Jon Fosse as ‘a good writer who you hope will be read more and more widely’. Couwenhoven: “He has his own unique style, which cannot be compared with other writers. He has a broad oeuvre: he writes plays, children’s books and novels. He is active in all areas.”
According to Couwenhoven, a common thread in Fosse’s work is ‘being human’: how we think and act. “It’s a painful road, life is not a bed of roses.” What touches Couwenhoven is Fosse’s directness. “You get into the character’s head, there are a lot of repetitions, you really have to do your best as a reader.”
Unique reading experience
Couwenhoven compares reading a book by Fosse to listening to a difficult piece of music, which you have to listen to a few times to hear how beautifully it is composed. “Sometimes you have read two or three pages and you have to go back two or three pages. But when you get his cadence, you are taken into something unique.”
Couwenhoven says that because of Fosse’s profits, ‘bookstores are diving in’. “All six novels are in reprint.” But for Couwenhoven it is a double celebration. The third season about the French gentleman burglar Lupine has also started on Netflix, and Couwenhoven, as publisher of the translations, also sees the demand for these reprints increasing. “Quite a party.”