Publication
Amsterdam CPNB 2023
ISBN
9789059657328
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User reviews
LibraryThing member thorold
It's the summer of 1998, and a family of refugees from Kosovo have arrived in a small Flemish village after facing many difficulties and dangers. The village mostly enjoys the novelty of having the Ibrahamis living among them, and it's especially good for Jimmy, a lonely child whose life up to now
There's a hard core of the grim realities of war and refugee life under the surface of what initially looks like a cosy village story. Lize Spit obviously knows exactly what she's doing as she doses these elements. And she seems to be suspiciously well-informed about the world of Flippo-collecting...
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has mainly centred around collecting Flippos out of potato crisp packets: he finds a new purpose in helping his exotic classmate Tristan to find his feet in the school system and Belgian culture. But then the news comes that the family's application for asylum has been rejected. The children come up with a plan to resist deportation. There's a hard core of the grim realities of war and refugee life under the surface of what initially looks like a cosy village story. Lize Spit obviously knows exactly what she's doing as she doses these elements. And she seems to be suspiciously well-informed about the world of Flippo-collecting...
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LibraryThing member edwinbcn
In previous years, for several decades, Het Boekenweekgeschenk, the annual 92-page novella or short novel commissioned by the National Committee for the Promotion of the Book, and presented for free to book buyers during the Dutch Week of the Book, each year in March, was written by
De eerlijke vinder is a fairly traditional story, with a clear plot, and recognizable characters. Perhaps for this reason, or to suggest that both main characters are slightly botched, there are some quircky sentences that make readers frown.
The story is about two young boys who live in an undistinct small town. The local lad, named Jimmy, Belgian, is autistic and quite turned into himself, preoccupied with an obsessive way of collecting tokens from bags of crisps. His sole friend is a boy of his own age, Tristan, who is an immigrant, from Kosovo. As the story progresses Tristan gains a hold over Jimmy, and in the end persuades Jimmy to do something dangerous to prove his loyalty to Tristan.
It is a psychologically strong story, which, however, leaves readers wondering whether there is more to it. The novella creates a tension between the readers (or critics')'reflex to look for a connection between the fictional work and reality, or try to see greater significance where there may not be.
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well-established authors. However, for 2023, it was written by a young writer, Lize Spit whose first novel had only been published 8 years before, in 2015. To many readers, therefore, she was quite unknown.De eerlijke vinder is a fairly traditional story, with a clear plot, and recognizable characters. Perhaps for this reason, or to suggest that both main characters are slightly botched, there are some quircky sentences that make readers frown.
The story is about two young boys who live in an undistinct small town. The local lad, named Jimmy, Belgian, is autistic and quite turned into himself, preoccupied with an obsessive way of collecting tokens from bags of crisps. His sole friend is a boy of his own age, Tristan, who is an immigrant, from Kosovo. As the story progresses Tristan gains a hold over Jimmy, and in the end persuades Jimmy to do something dangerous to prove his loyalty to Tristan.
It is a psychologically strong story, which, however, leaves readers wondering whether there is more to it. The novella creates a tension between the readers (or critics')'reflex to look for a connection between the fictional work and reality, or try to see greater significance where there may not be.
Show Less