The Aunts
Cyriel Buysse
Translated David McKay
The Aunts, a gem-like masterpiece of Flemish literature by the great Belgian writer Cyriel Buysse, is presented here for the first time in English in a magnificent translation by David McKay.
This short novel, set in the early 20th century, tells the tragic story of the petit-bourgeois Dufours. Aunt Clemence, Aunt Estelle, and Aunt Victoire dominate and suffocate the family with their riches and their sanctimonious morals. Mr. Dufour and his son Max are constantly on their guard, and his daughters Clara, Adrienne, and Esmée are well on the way to becoming vipers, too.
Buysse’s powerful indictment of hidebound rural Flemish society is leavened by memorable dialogue, humorous moments, and lyrical evocations of light and landscape. His critique of hypocrisy and inherited wealth is still scorchingly relevant, and the tender irony with which he portrays his characters will fascinate today’s readers.
About the Author
Cyriel Buysse (1859–1932) was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps as director of a chicory factory, but under the influence of his aunt, the well-known writer Virginie Loveling, he instead became a novelist and playwright, one of the great storytellers of the Dutch-speaking world. His early work, influenced by French naturalism, was bleak in mood, depicting the miserable lives of the rural poor in what was still practically a feudal society. His later work has a lighter touch and expresses his ironic humor, psychological insight, and love of the Flemish landscape. His novels written after World War I, such as The Aunts, reflect the dawning of a modern sensibility in Flanders, and their spare prose sometimes gives them a remarkably contemporary feel.
About the Translator
David McKay is an award-winning literary translator who lives in The Hague. His recent publications include Adrift in the Middle Kingdom by J. Slauerhoff, a poetic adventure novel in a China on the brink of revolution which gradually transforms into a surreal fantasy, and Multatuli’s classic political novel Max Havelaar about Dutch misrule in the East Indies, a joint translation with Ina Rilke that was shortlisted for the Oxford Weidenfeld Prize.
Paperback, 202 pages. Release date: November 17, 2020
ISBN-13: 978-1-64525-054-8
Price: US$17.50