Much of netherland is about the game of cricket, and it is a credit to the genius of oneills writing that a reader can approach the book knowing nothing about the game, hear the narrator sigh midexplanation about how tired he is of trying to explain it to everyone and give up the attempt, and finish reading the novel still not know. A second milieu, the famously offbeat chelsea hotel, is a tad predictable as an urban microcosm as is the amiable eccentricity of its inhabitants but oneill refreshes the device with gentle humor. May 15, 2008 the afternoon before i left london for new york rachel had flown out six weeks previously i was in my cubicle at work, boxing up my possessions, when a senior vicepresident at the bank. He then goes with chuck to an event for new york cricket players, and. Netherland is the third novel by irishborn author, joseph oneill. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading netherland. It concerns the life of a dutchman living in new york in the wake of the september 11 attacks who takes up cricket and starts playing at the staten island cricket club. Told in a lyrical voice, the story of his journey involves an immersion in the cricketplaying subculture of the city, a tragic friendship with a. Chuck and hans are two unlikely friends, thrown together in a post 911 new york, out of step with their families and connected by a love of cricket. Hans sporting passion is cricket, and he soon gets involved with what he discovers to be a vibrant cricket scene in new york, playing as one of the only white men among a community of cricketers from the west indies and south asia.
About the book joseph oneills netherland is the mesmerizing story of a european man living in new york city after 911, with two troubled lovesthat for his wife, and that for his adopted country. Jan 05, 2009 lost in a country hed regarded as his new home, hans sought comfort in a most alien place the thriving but almost invisible world of new york cricket, in which immigrants from asia and the west indies play a beautiful, mystifying game on the citys most marginal parks. Pen in one hand, cricket bat in the other, by charles mcgrath, the new york times, 17 may 2008. Hans begins a period of loneliness in new york, where he remains in the chelsea hotel amidst its strange inhabitants. In joseph oneills third novel, netherland, there are two great love objects. It wasnt until after id finished netherland, joseph oneills outstanding new novel, that i realized id been reading about cricket, which suddenly felt like id read a book in a language ive.
Netherland flirts with greatness of gatsby with plenty of nods to the great gatsby joseph oneills netherland explores dreams and ambition in. Within the new york cricket scene, he meets trinidadian chuck ramkissoon, an immigrant like himself with a very. The book s second story line, and perhaps its more resonant one, is about the solace hans finds in the vibrant subculture of cricket in new york, where he is. And it was this intriguing and diverse cast of characters that gave him the inspiration and fodder for netherland. Cricket was the first modern team sport in america, ramkissoon explains. Netherland vintage contemporaries paperback third place.
Cricket also is in the novel a metaphor for new york city and the united states with their. It concerns the life of a dutchman living in new york in the wake of the september 11 attacks who takes up cricket and. Jul 02, 2008 netherland flirts with greatness of gatsby with plenty of nods to the great gatsby joseph oneills netherland explores dreams and ambition in postsept. He writes regularly for the atlantic monthly and is the author of two previous novels, this is the life and the breezes, and of a family history, blooddark track, which was a new york times notable book. Yet a quieter but equally resonant storylinethe unraveling of hans and rachels marriageseems to have been labeled by critics as secondary, or even undeveloped.
Lost in a country hed regarded as his new home, hans sought comfort in a most alien place the thriving but almost invisible world of new york cricket, in which immigrants from asia and the west indies play a beautiful, mystifying game on the citys most marginal parks. In a masterly new novel, two emigres find a home in post911 new york. But he also has grandiose ambitions for new yorks cricketing scene. I have not read anything that quite so brilliantly captured the exuberant madness and cultural diversity of new york. America hails cricket fans novel that met 911 challenge. Netherland joseph oneill first chapter the new york.
Alone and untethered, feeling lost in the country he had come to regard as home, hans stumbles upon the vibrant new york subculture of cricket. Jun, 2008 in netherland, oneill asks the same question, aiming to use cricket as its played in new york to reveal fresh permutations of the national story that america tells itself. Aug 02, 2008 and it was this intriguing and diverse cast of characters that gave him the inspiration and fodder for netherland. But at its heart, joseph oneills new book, netherland, is about. Ports us editor, alex vadukul, explores what cricket means to a small group of dedicated sportspeople in nyc ricky singh is the owner of singhs sporting goods, one of a handful of shops in new york that specialises in cricketing hear. The novel focuses on how hans copes on his own in new york in the years without his wife, primarily by taking part in amateur cricket leagues and befriending a. It was a professional sport reported in all the newspapers. Everyone has a different take on this bustling, diverse city. Netherland joseph oneill, 2008 knopf doubleday 272 pp. He then goes with chuck to an event for new york cricket players, and he and chuck stay out all night, drinking and partying.
Joseph oneills netherland is the wittiest, angriest, most exacting and. The book itself has glorious moments, and is set in the charming milieu of immigrant new york that does not include italians or russians, but falls a little short because the narrator, in the end, is a misery guts. In joseph oneills netherland, cricket is at once an. The small universe of new york cricket port magazine. Oneill received the 2009 penfaulkner award for fiction for his third novel, netherland. Yet a quieter but equally resonant storylinethe unraveling of hans and rachels marriageseems to have been labeled by critics as. In netherland, oneill asks the same question, aiming to use cricket as its played in new york to reveal fresh permutations of the national story that america tells itself. An englisheducated writer of irish and turkish descent who grew up in holland and is now a us citizen, oneill seems well placed to tell postnational stories. K every two weeks to see his son, and he begins to play cricket on the alternate weekends to give himself something to do. As hans and rachels marriage grows past the point of salvage, hans seeks escape in risky pursuits. Netherland gives us both a flawlessly drawn picture of a littleknown new york and a story of much larger, and brilliantly achieved ambition.
Cricket is the vehicle for exploring the melting pot of new york life in the city. The great irishdutchamerican novel joseph oneill, an irishman raised in holland, talks about the great gatsby, post911 new york, and his new novel, netherland. This connection makes up for the wayward actions played out by these men. Mar 12, 2020 at the end of the book, hans is talking to a minor character who had considered funding chucks idea for a cricket club in new york. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. May 18, 2008 the book s second story line, and perhaps its more resonant one, is about the solace hans finds in the vibrant subculture of cricket in new york, where he is among the few white men to be found. Cricket has been played in new york since the 1770s. Reading this book is like being taken on a treasure hunt through new york.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Jan 01, 2008 the loneliness of new york and lets face it. Oneill also literally wrote the book on cricket in new york. The book is narrated by broek and so is a first person narrative. The book s second story line, and perhaps its more resonant one, is about the solace hans finds in the vibrant subculture of cricket in new york, where he is among the few white men to be found on. In joseph o neill s netherland, cricket is at once an immigrants imagined community, an emblem of foreignness, and, most poignantly, a dream of america. Netherland joseph oneill first chapter the new york times. In joseph oneills netherland, cricket is at once an immigrants. Cricket, like this match in a new york park, plays a significant part in netherland.
Jeremy paxman, guardian books of the year there is a very special sort of gratitude you can feel for a book that is so formidably written that it has you anxious to get back to it and pining a little bit to be away from. Drift along oneills stream of consciousness and youll be treated to gems of glittering prose, deep psychological understanding, and netherland received much prerelease praise and deservedly. Broek stumbles upon the vibrant new york subculture of cricket, where he revisits his lost childhood and. May 24, 2008 america hails cricket fans novel that met 911 challenge. The afternoon before i left london for new york rachel had flown out six weeks previously i was in my cubicle at work, boxing up my possessions, when a. It has more life inside it than 10 very good novels. The book reminded me of saul bellows herzog, but lacked the huge pulsing humanitarian heart of that great book. The big apple, the center of the universe, the city of dreams, the city that never sleeps, the city so nice, they named it twice and more. A novel vintage contemporaries kindle edition by joseph oneill. James wood, the new yorker i devoured it in three thirsty gulps, gulps that satisfied a craving i didnt know i had. At the end of the book, hans is talking to a minor character who had considered funding chucks idea for a cricket club in new york. Cricket, in new york, is played almost exclusively by caribbean and south. The new york cricket club, faruk says, raising his eyebrows, was a splendid idea a gymkhana in new york.
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