Crackling Skulls
Roger Van de Velde
Translated by Jonathan Reeder
Roger Van de Velde, a maverick of Flemish literature and a virtuoso word artist, was addicted to the painkiller Palfium, and after forging prescriptions he repeatedly found himself in prisons and psychiatric institutions.
In the twenty powerful short stories in Crackling Skulls, here presented in English for the first time in a brilliant translation by Jonathan Reeder, he portrays his “companions in misery” in those institutions, people living on the fringes of society. He combines his own intense compassion for his fellow internees with detached and razor-sharp observations. Through his haunting descriptions, we get to know Daniel, who smokes one cigarette after another for three days because Prometheus has instructed him to do so, Jules Leroy, who kills his beloved cat after it eats his roast beef, and the Marquis de la Motte, who writes out IOUs for billions of francs. He describes their madness with respect and love, and persistently goes in search of the final remnants of humanity within them.
About the Author
Roger Van de Velde (1925-1970) was born in Boom, Belgium. As a journalist with De Nieuwe Gazet (Antwerp) he was a razor-sharp critic of injustice and wrote bittersweet, compassionate items about tormented figures. A gastrointestinal perforation in 1948 marked the beginning of a prolonged medical ordeal. In 1958, doctors prescribed Palfium, a highly addictive opioid. Van de Velde was caught forging prescriptions to feed his addiction and spent six of the last eight years of his life behind bars. In Crackling Skulls Van de Velde depicts his compagnons de misère in the psychiatric prison as men of flesh and blood, illustrating their insanity with respect and compassion. Van de Velde was released from the asylum in April 1970. Barely two months later, he died on an Antwerp café terrace of a Palfium overdose. He is buried among fellow noteworthy Belgian artists, musicians, and men and women of letters in the “artists’ field of honor” at Antwerp’s Schoonselhof Cemetery.
About the Translator
Jonathan Reeder, a native of New York and longtime resident of Amsterdam, enjoys a dual career as a literary translator and performing musician. Alongside his work as a professional bassoonist he translates contemporary Dutch-language fiction by authors including Marjolijn van Heemstra, Martin Michael Driessen, A.F.T. van der Heijden, and Rodaan Al Galidi. He has a special fondness for Flemish literature, and has worked closely with Belgian writers Maarten Inghels, Rashif El Kaoui, Annelies Verbeke, Ish Ait Hamou, and Tom Lanoye.
Paperback, 144 pages
Release date, December 6, 2022
ISBN-13: 978-1-64525-113-2
Price: US$16.50