The Pelican, Martin Michael Driessen
The Pelican, Martin Michael Driessen
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The Pelican
A Comedy

Author: Martin Michael Driessen, Jonathan Reeder

Narrator: Stefan Rudnicki

Unabridged: 5 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/12/2019

Categories: Fiction, Satire, Drama

Synopsis

“[A] funny, serious, clever novel.” —The New York TimesFrom award-winning Dutch author Martin Michael Driessen comes a fearlessly funny tragedy about an improbable friendship, unstable dreams, missed opportunities, and epic coincidence.In a quiet coastal town in Yugoslavia, two men seeking more than the Communist regime can offer find their lives deceitfully entwined.Andrej is a postman in complete denial of his existence. He yearns for respect and fame but commits petty crimes for reasons he doesn’t fully comprehend. Josip is an increasingly irrelevant cable car operator and unfaithfully married. Life was so much simpler when neither one knew the other’s secrets. Now that they do—discovered quite by accident—each man has resorted to blackmailing the other. As their anonymous misdeeds escalate, a farce of mutual dependency begins. So does the unlikeliest of friendships when Andrej and Josip finally meet face-to-face.In a tale set against the impending wars, Martin Michael Driessen ingeniously explores the foibles of two painfully ordinary men boldly staking their claims on life.

About Martin Michael Driessen

Martin Michael Driessen is a Dutch opera and theater director, translator, and writer. He is the author of the novels Gars, Father of God, A True Hero, Rivers (which was awarded the prestigious ECI Literature Prize), and The Pelican. Writing as Eva Wanjek, he cowrote the novel Lizzie with highly acclaimed and prize-nominated poet Liesbeth Lagemaat. In 2018 he published a collection of short stories, My First Murder. His work has been translated into English, Italian, German, Spanish, Slovenian, and Hungarian. For more information, visit www.martinmichaeldriessen.com.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Christine on September 15, 2021

Ik ben totaal verrast. Ik had na het lezen van het sublieme Rivieren – alweer een tijd geleden – een heel ander boek verwacht. Waarmee ik niet wil zeggen dat dit boek tegenvalt. Op het eerste blad lees ik de woorden ‘Een komedie’ en dat is het ook wel. Af en toe heb ik de indruk een scenario voor ee......more

Goodreads review by Marcia on March 04, 2018

De pelikaan was heel anders dan ik verwachtte. Het verhaal is komisch en tragisch tegelijk en de historische achtergrond waartegen het verhaal zich afspeelt is erg interessant. Lees mijn complete recensie op Boekvinder.be.......more

Goodreads review by Stef on March 05, 2018

Opgegeven na hoofdstuk 1. Veel te veel onwaarschijnlijkheden, ongeloofwaardige personages. Het gekste vind ik nog wel dat de postbode de brieven die hij moet bezorgen openmaakt om ze te gaan lezen maar dat de brief waar het om draait nu juist een brief is die hij niet moet bezorgen maar die door de l......more

Goodreads review by Ira on June 21, 2021

A great read about two very flawed characters who end up blackmailing each for years while being great friends. It becomes really entertaining when Andrei starts his blackmailing to get some excitement in his life. From then on the story develops in a very amusing way. It is kind of sad while still m......more

Goodreads review by Jan on March 26, 2018

De roman ‘De pelikaan’ van Martin Michael Driessen verdient voluit de kwalificatie ‘literair’, want Driessen schrijft mooi proza. Opwindend is het in dit geval niet, hoewel het verhaal wel die potentie had. Twee Joegoslaven van wie de een Kroaat wordt en de ander Serviër, die een onbewuste afhankeli......more

Quotes

“Josip and Andrej are insignificant men in an insignificant coastal town in 1980s Yugoslavia who form an improbable relationship as each other’s blackmailer in this funny, serious, clever novel by a Dutch writer and director.” —The New York Times

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