Nescio, Amsterdam Stories
Introduction by Joseph O’Neill
NYRB Classics, 2012; selected and translated from Dutch
Winner of awards from the PEN Translation Fund (2008), the Netherland America Foundation (2007, 2010), and the Dutch Literature Fund (2010, 2011)
“Crushing beauty.... For me, reading Amsterdam Stories was like watching Casablanca.” —The Millions
“The three main stories in this book deliver riches that defy their brevity. Nescio is revered in the Netherlands and Germany, and this generous little book shows why.” —The Irish Times
No one has written more feelingly than Nescio about the courage and vulnerability of youth: its big plans and vague longings, marathon walks and talks. And no one has written with such pristine clarity about the canals of Amsterdam and the cloud-swept landscape of the Netherlands.
Nescio — Latin for “I don’t know” and part of the Dutch way of saying “Anonymous” (N.N. or Nomen Nescio, “name not known”) — was the pen name of J.H.F. Grönloh, highly successful director of the Holland-Bombay Trading Company and a father of four. Only in his spare time did he let himself go, producing a handful of utterly original stories.
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