Gerard Kornelis van het Reve (1923 - 2006) was born in Amsterdam. His most widely read book is his first novel De avonden (The Evenings, De Bezige Bij 1947). The much reprinted and controversial epistolary books Op weg naar het einde (On the Way to the End, G.A. van Oorschot 1963) and Nader tot U (Nearer to Thee, G.A. van Oorschot 1966), in which Reve opened his heart about his homosexuality and his conversion to Catholicism, were instrumental in establishing the author as a public figure in the Netherlands. Over the years he has published a large series of autobiographical epistolary books and several novels: Moeder en Zoon (Mother and Son, Elsevier Manteau 1980), Bezorgde Ouders (Parents Worry, Veen 1988).
Gerard Kornelis van het Reve was always a controversial person, both in life ánd work. His writing developed from objectively registering, travel letters and autobiographical novels to works on religion, death and erotics.
|
|
|
