![]() ![]() ![]() And herrings which, assuredly, are good for the soul. There is also a sensuality in the prose in the sights, sounds and tastes of the city – particularly taste as it revolves in large part around a shipment of sugar and fears that excessive sweetness may endanger the soul. The innate xenophobia against the black servant Otto. The suspiciousness and envy of neighbours. The tyranny of the church in an almost pagan desire to appease the sea. There is something extraordinary about the way Burton creates the world of Amsterdam: its wealth, its precarious geography, its pettiness, its hypocrisy. Such is the evocative power of Burton’s prose in this highly-praised debut novel. Or gingerbread, even in the forbidden shape of a person. ![]() And yet, standing in that sun, warmed by it, with this book open I am transported to a frozen canal sides of Amsterdam over the winter of 1686.Īnd, as I write this, I’d love an olie-koecken. Today was warm, sunny, a little humid on the south western coast of England. ![]()
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