De omweg is a traditional novel, in the sense that it has a plot, a clear narrative structure and a story that matters. The story is interesting and both in the development of the story and the relation between the characters there are interesting developments and surprises.

Gerbrand Bakker is a Dutch author with a deeply lived interest in literature, nature and gardening, aspects which all embellish this beautiful novel. ( )

The Detour (or Ten White Geese as it is published in the US) is an extremely difficult book to review; instead, it is one that the reader must experience directly, yielding to its ebbs and flows, its offerings and its closures. Gerbrand Bakker is a remarkable writer, and this novel—which just rightfully won this year's IFFP award—is nothing short of a masterpiece: a painstakingly brutal meditation on illness, isolation, and despair.

At work on a doctoral thesis on Emily Dickinson, an unnamed Dutchwoman—who only names herself "Emilie" halfway through the novel—takes refuge in Wales. Bakker takes his time to allow the natural world's uncanniness to envelop our protagonist, each short chapter a vignette of the monotonous days spent tackling chores around a solitary cottage with no way to measure the hours except from the position of the sun in winter.

Rife with symbolism, from the diminishing number of geese settled on her land to the intertextual references to Dickinson's work that underscore key moments in the protagonist's movement from beginning to end, The Detour can both frustrate and embrace a reader in the same turn, much as the Dutchwoman appears to repeat in her desire for isolation and yet also her all-too-human urges for intimacy and companionship.

This is a novel to savor slowly in order to allow Bakker to carry one along terrain at once stark and beautiful, by turns vast, claustrophobic, and timeless in its dissection of the human condition. ( )

‘’Now and then, at night, sitting on the window seat and looking out into the darkness through the tendrils of an old creeper, she would notice that she wasn’t entirely alone: somewhere in the distance, there was a light. Anglesey was is that direction too and from Anglesey you could catch a ferry to Ireland.’’

A Dutch woman that calls herself ‘’Emilie’’ leaves Amsterdam for an isolated part of Wales under the shadow of the Snowdon. She flees from a ridiculous husband, laughable parents and a messy affair. Nosy neighbours can mind their own business, Emilie is fixed on isolation and silence, in the company of Emily Dickinson whose presence in her life resembles that of a rather persistent ghost. Welsh nature is enticing to this urban scholar and ten white geese become her companions. But suddenly they start disappearing, one by one, and badgers and foxes become menacing. Things change even more when a mysterious young man appears on her doorstep and is very keen on staying. Sometimes, all you really want is to be left in peace…

Through beautiful, tranquil writing, Bakker paints the portrait of a mysterious woman in a strange situation within the heart of a rugged, mystical landscape that sucks you in with its beauty and refuses to let you go. And why would go, really? Nature and its secrets, the rocks, the paths, the ponds, and Snowdon looming create a fragile, seemingly serene atmosphere. But the darkness and the howling wind are threatening, and nothing is more annoying (and dangerous…) from people who regard you as the ‘’foreigner’’ and believe they have the right to interfere. When you choose isolation, when small - talk and any kind of (feigned) intimacy drive you mad, the world becomes an extremely suffocating place.

This isn’t the kind of book of twists and action, of dozens of ‘’incidents’’ every 10 pages. This is a novel for reflection, sensual and haunting, read like a modern fable. Beautifully menacing like a snowy mountain or a stormy winter’s night…

Beautiful, poetic translation by David Colmer.

‘’That she had to be alone to do things herself. That when it comes down to it, people are always alone. That you should never let other people tell you what to do.’’

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ ( )

really beautifully written. each paragraph is immensely satisfying to read.
not sure about the plot, but wow, it was nice to read. ( )

I read another book by Gebrand Bakker called The Twin. I lived in Holland many years ago and loved the flatness, the huge skies and the light. A nation of bicycle thieves and writers. Unlike The Twin, this one is set in Wales. A woman appears in a small village and rents a cottage that comes with 10 white geese. Apart from that they are pretty peripheral to the story.

He captures the claustrophobia of small communities perfectly, the prying, snooping and guessing around strangers and the latent hostility of the Welsh that all intruders feel but can never quite put their finger on.

I like his pacing for a story, he is another that makes the landscape a character rather than a background, landscape intrudes into lives and gives people shape, people define themselves both in and with landscape, it becomes another set of clothes.

Melancholic, intriguing and inviting. Once I started I knew I would finish this one slowly like glass of Guinness on a hot day. ( )