An evening with the author Hans Maarten van den Brink, in aid of the Leander Trust with finger buffet!
Please book direct with the organiser by clicking here.
The Leander Trust Library at the Leander Club in Henley-on-Thames is proud to present to you, all the way from the Netherlands, Hans Maarten van den Brink, author of the book On the Water. The evening is wholly in aid of the Leander Trust. A finger buffet will be served in the beautiful club house.
On the Water is a short novella which was initially published in 1998 and has since become a classic. It has been translated into 14 languages and is now in its 20th edition, and has nominated for many awards, including the Prix Femina étranger, the Prix Médicis étranger, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, the Libris Literature Prize, the Generale Bank Literature Prize, and has won the Euregio Prize. It was translated into English by Paul Vincent.
Two young oarsmen are trained as a coxless pair by a mysterious German coach in the golden summer of pre-war Amsterdam. Through the pressure and rapture of physical exertion, teamwork and victory, Anton the shy outsider and calmly self-confident David, forge an intense relationship while the grim developments on the world stage remain at a great distance. But on the wintry eve of Holland’s liberation, Anton stands on the bank of his beloved river and mourns a lost world: David has disappeared and the boathouse is now derelict and deserted.
A novel of extraordinary subtlety from readers and writers alike have much to learn… This is a marvellous book, in every respect. — Daily Mail, 2001
An impressively sustained evocation of a lost time and lost happiness… A daring first novel. — Times Literary Supplement, 2001
Rarely have sport and literature combined so seamlessly to produce such an absorbing and satisfying novel as this small miracle of a book. — Daniel Topolski in The Guardian, 2001
The Leander Trust is a registered charity (No. 284631) to advance the education of young people and their physical education by providing facilities – including grant awards – to enable and encourage rowing and sculling; and to help by providing facilities for recreation for those who need such facilities because of their youth, social or economic circumstances. A short presentation will be held to illustrate the benefit of the Trust.
