Beyond Sleep
by Willem Frederik Hermans
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Book Summary Information
Author: Willem Frederik HermansEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-05-27
ISBN: 1585679887
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Overlook TP
Book Reviews of Beyond Sleep
Book Review: A tragicomic quest for immortality
Summary: 5 Stars
Willem Frederik Hermans is arguably the most important postwar Dutch writer and this work is one of his greatest. It will therefore hardly be possible to do justice to it in a short review. The book is about a young Dutch geologist who takes part in a scientific expedition in Finnmarken (northern parts of Norway). His aim, and the topic of his PhD research, is to prove that certain circular lakes in this area are holes caused by the result of meteorite impacts. At first glance the book may strike the reader as a rather dry-comic description of a failed scientific expedition taking place in a place where the sun never sets and mosquitos are ever present pests. At second glance some unusual features that are likely to strike the reader include: the disorienting mixture of comic irreverance and intellectual depth of the discussions between the characters in the book, the sharp and ruthless demystification of the 'elevated' activity of 'scientific research' (certainly striking in 1966), and maybe the references to Freudian theory. However, the real topic of this book lies well beneath these surface features.
The main character of this book (Alfred Issendorf) is on a quest. Although practically the quest is just to find proof of his advisor's hypothesis that certain lakes are meteorite craters, beneath the surface this is all a metaphor for a much more general quest, namely the quest for immortality (which may be the oldest story in existence, i.e. Gilgamesh). Alfred tries to attain immortality by making an immortal scientific discovery. As the old Norwegian professor puts it near the beginning of the book: science is humanity's titanic attempt to escape from its isolation in this universe. In this sense the PhD topic is also metaphorical. Just as humanity has tended to look for the meaning of life not here on this earth, but in what lies beyond life itself, Alfred wants to prove that objects from beyond this earth (meteorites) have come down to leave their marks. Similarly, the nightless landscape of Finnmarken alludes to the topic of the quest, immortality. btw. in Dutch the title of the book is literally 'to sleep never more'.
As the book progresses, the author piles up evidence to the crucial tragic fact that is the topic of this book: that even if Alfred were to make an 'immortal discovery', it would be the discovery and not him, Alfred, his personal thoughts and feelings, that would become immortal. In the end the quest for immortality is bound to fail. Along the way to this tragic conclusion the author manages to not only entertain and amuse us but also share some rather profound ideas. Some of my favorite examples include the suggested connection between the invention of photography and the phenomenon of psychological identity crisis, the claim that one day machines will have become so much better at doing science than humans that all 'true science' will be done by machines and that humans will only engage in scientific research as a form of entertainment (which more than 40 years after the book appeared is still a rather modern idea). And finally, the prophecy that humanity will eventually go extinct by realizing its own futility.
Summary of Beyond Sleep
Beyond Sleep is a modern classic of European fiction, a hilarious and captivating story set beyond the edge of the civilized word, as one man approaches a breaking point.The young Dutch geologist Alfred Issendorf is determined to win fame for making a great discovery. To this end he joins a small geological expedition, which travels to the far North of Norway, where he hopes to prove a series of craters were caused by meteorites, but ultimately realizes he's more likely to drown in a fjord or be eaten by parasites.
Unable to procure crucial aerial photographs, and beset by mosquitoes and insomnia in his freezing leaky tent, Alfred becomes increasingly desperate and paranoid. Haunted by the ghost of his scientist father, unable to escape the looming influence of his mother, and anxious to complete the thesis that will make his name, he moves toward the final act of vanity which will trigger a catastrophe.
A deadpan comedy often subtly calling up the works of Heller or Vonnegut at their best, Beyond Sleep is a unique and illuminating examination of how hard it is to be a true pioneer in the modern world. Beyond Sleep is a masterpiece.
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