I was in the Netherlands last week for…
...the release of my novel in Dutch. I had been once to Holland before, a number of years ago. This time, however, as a soon-to be-published author (one who doesn’t have to pay for his plane tickets, hotel or meals, Holland looked different: more charming. I didn’t see much of it, though. I spent my first day and a half in my hotel in Amsterdam, where all seven interviews my Dutch publicist (Esther Brandt) had arranged for me were conducted. Esther, by the way, is a lovely girl. She looks 22 though she assured me she’s much older. Just as lovely is my Dutch editor, Judith Uyterlinde. Both Esther and Judith are wonderful hostesses true to their Dutch strightforwardness reputation. They managed, in a matter of hours, to ask me a question that my mother only asked when I turned 33 and was still single.
My “performance” (reading plus interview) at the Crossing Border Festival went well. It was pouring that night in The Hague, and so we got but a small crowd. My interviewer was Arjan Visser, a very nice Dutch writer who shamelessly asked me very personal questions in front of the audience. Arjan: if you read this--and I hope you do--you owe me one. After the event, I signed a few autographs at the festival’s improvised bookstore. The four-day festival was a complete hit. Among the authors were William Boyd, Vikram Chandra, Rick Moody, M.J. Hyland and Benjamin Kunkel. By the way, I shared a cab back to the airport with M.J. Hyland. What a sweet and genuine woman she is. I liked her immediately, and hope we can share more than a cab ride some time soon.
