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Frank, tender, and brutally funny, Dimitri Verhulst's semi-autobiographical story details the vibrantly entertaining journey of a boy growing up in a family of alcoholics in Belgium
Sobriety and moderation are alien concepts to the men in Dimmy's family. Useless in all other respects, his three uncles have a rare talent for drinking, a flair for violence, and an unwavering commitment to the pub. And his father Pierre is no slouch either. Within hours of his son's birth, Pierre plucks him from the maternity ward, props him on his bike, and takes him on an introductory tour of the village bars. His mother soon leaves them to it and as Dimmy grows up amid the stench of stale beer, he seems destined to follow the path of his forebears and make a low-life career in inebriation, until he begins to piece together his own plan for the future.
Bringing to life the shambolic upbringing that The Guardian describes as, "the odd, ugly, excremental poetry of their grubby lives," The Misfortunates "can be unexpectedly tender as well as uncomfortably funny… this novel continually surprises and intrigues."
- Sales Rank: #1350731 in eBooks
- Published on: 2013-10-15
- Released on: 2013-10-15
- Format: Kindle eBook
From Publishers Weekly
In this semi-autobiographical novel from Verhulst (Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill), the tattered family of narrator Dmitri, or Dimmy, lurches through life, frequently drunk and often disorderly. Dimmy, his uncles, and his father live in Arsendegem, Belgium, in a state of squalor about which nobody cares overmuch: We were ashamed, but we didn't do anything about it.... A miserable existence doesn't have to be complicated. The book itself is uncomplicated. Dimmy wryly relates stories, mostly from his youth, of his relatives' alcoholic hijinks: getting a cousin drunk for the first time; gambling to pay off gambling debts; a drinking contest/bicycle race modeled, improbably, after the Tour de France, in which vomiting wasn't against the rules: the puked-up beer would not be deducted from the total. Verhulst doesn't shrink from portraying Dimmy in a bad light, as when he describes waiting for his child to be born: There was still a very slim chance of the child being stillborn.... In that case I would find it difficult to conceal my delight. This bitingly honest book tips toward the amusing as fiction and toward the dismaying as autobiography. (Oct.)
From Booklist
Meet the Verhulst Family: 13-year-old Dimitri, his father, and his three uncles, all of whom live with the boy’s long-suffering grandmother. All the adult males are alcoholics; indeed, if beer-drinking were a craft, these feckless losers—only Dimitri’s father is employed—would be master craftsmen! The question is, Will Dimitri become their apprentice? Presented in the form of loosely linked stories, Belgian author Verhulst’s semiautobiographical novel shares mock-epic incidents from Dimitri’s childhood: an elaborate drinking contest, the revelation of his stylish cousin Sylvie’s real father, the repossession of the family’s TV, his estranged mother’s pee pass (don’t ask), and the like. If the tone of these stories is ruefully humorous, that of the four stories that feature Dimitri as an adult is more sardonic, including the one in which Dimitri realizes he has become more uncle than father to his five-year-old son. Aside from the sad visit of Dimitri to his now-senile grandmother, there isn’t an ounce of the sentimental in these often earthy stories. Together they offer a warts-and-all portrait of a family whose small lives would otherwise go unremarked. --Michael Cart
Review
“Dimitri tells the story episodically, and as the episodes accumulate, comic scenes reveal larger causes and repercussions…The Verhulsts are by turns crass, canny, clannish and hapless -- headed, in good spirits, for disaster.” ―The New York Times
“These often earthy stories…offer a warts-and-all portrait of a family.” ―Booklist
“This bitingly honest book tips toward the amusing as fiction and toward the dismaying as autobiography.” ―Publishers Weekly
“A family of deeply entrenched alcoholics stumbles its way toward grace in this 2007 novel of misadventure from award-winning Belgian writer Verhulst (Goddamn Days on a Goddamn Globe, 2008, etc.). The grotesque nature of chronic drinking is played as absurdist comedy in Verhulst's book. Admittedly autobiographical, Verhulst's rendering of pub life and the liver-crushing, free-wheeling lifestyle that has long-term effects on the narrator recalls nothing so much as the bittersweet flavor of Charles Bukowski and, by extension, Tom Waits. There's something of a meditation on fatherhood; the patriarch of the family takes his son on a tour of the bars immediately after his birth. But unfortunately, the novel's women become mere afterthoughts to the sport of the day. Drinking, as the narrator Dimmy explains, becomes something of a contest. "God created the day and we dragged ourselves through it," Verhulst writes. "When we still lived like characters in the songs of Big Bill Broonzy, Omer organized an assault on the world drinking record." And the men, be it Dimmy's father or his extended family of uncles, are rather disgusting: sweating, farting, scratching, cursing behemoths for whom beer and the consumption of said is a religion. The novel's pinnacle comes in the form of "The Tour de France," a monumental tribute to the pub crawl, replete with the contestants speeding through the suburbs in their underwear. Verhulst wraps things up nicely as Dimitri outgrows his roots. "I'm not one of them, but I'd like to be," he says. "I wish I could show my loyalty or my love, whatever you want to call those feelings. A poetic, no-holds-barred slice of the European lowlife, with lots of drinking.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“Verhulst's prose is always a delight . . .This is a subtle and wonderfully told story.” ―Financial Times
“Verhulst's gift for imagery is impressive . . . the humour is pitch-black and very funny.” ―Prospect
“Ceaselessly entertaining . . . it bursts with humour and energy that never lets up.” ―BookMunch
“Outrageousness yields to eloquent recognition in this darkly intelligent novel.” ―Irish Times
“This is a welcome addition to the ranks of literary fiction that find humour, and sometimes poetry, in urban deprivation.” ―Independent
“Verhulst is a writer with an understanding of those who fail, and writes acutely and authentically.” ―De Standaard
“Verhulst is probably one of the most sensitive, most poetic of the new young Flemish writers. But none of his contemporaries has the same hardness. Sometimes his pen comes down like a hammer.” ―De Morgen
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
"...my father blew his boozy breath in my face for the first time."
By sdk
First, is this a memoir, or fiction? The Misfortunates begins with the following disclaimer, which clears things right up: "Any similarity between existing people and certain characters in this book is due solely to insight into human nature."
In any case, this moving story about a "lower lower working class" family (grandmother, several sons, grandson) living in (fictional) Arsendegem, Flanders (Belgium), plagued by alcoholism, essentially defined by alcoholism, is so full of insight into human nature, and love, and dryly humorous observations, it is difficult to know where to begin. Here is a representative slice: "My grandmother emerged from the kitchen with a bucket and a rag, just the way a commemorative statue would represent her." The bouts and binges and day-to-day drinking are of a truly monumental proportion, and provide scenes both horrifying and humorous, including a Tour de France of alcohol consumption no mortal could survive.
Beyond alcoholism, there is the theme of social class, and the internal struggles that occur for those who, like the author, "rise above" a deprived and depraved family populated by those deeply flawed humans who you love so deeply. You can no longer be with this family, but you are undeniably of this family. "Girder will invariably call me his little brother--and there's not much that can make me happier than having this villainous pig call me his little brother."
This uncomfortable status of the writer who has emerged from family misfortune (and worse) reminded me of Rick Bragg's "All over but the shouting" and, especially, Tobias Wolff's "This boy's life" along with his later memoir/novels "Old school" and "In pharaoh's army." I would rank Verhulst (through David Colmer's masterful translation) as a writer and storyteller on par with Wolff, whose books I greatly admire.I hope, like Wolff, Verhulst will write the story of the next part of his life, that of his intellectual emergence from misfortune through fosterage.
Bottom line: this is a deceptively powerful story that suggests more understanding of what is true about people and important in life than is fair for a youngish middle-aged writer like Dimitri Verhulst to command. I can only hope that he keeps the books (and translations) coming. Very highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
AA
By Shannon Pease
5 Stars
*I received this ARC copy through goodreads first reads*
Dimmy is young when his mother leaves and his father moves them in with his grandmother and three uncles. Sobriety is a bad word in their house and Dimmy has to navigate his adolescent years among unapologetic alcoholics and chaotic relationships. It is expected for Dimmy to follow in their footsteps but life could always pass on an opportunity if he's willing to take it.
As someone who has seen loved ones battle the disease of alcoholism this novel felt familiar in some ways. A lot of readers will be able to relate on some level which makes this a subject that will never get worn out. I almost felt guilty for liking some of the characters or finding their antics funny, but comedy can help swallow a bitter pill as long as the importance is not pushed aside. I am not going to get too wordy because this is novel is really about personal taste more so than some. I will recommend this one but I will say that if you cannot read comic antics along with alcoholism it might not be the right fit. The author in no way diminishes alcoholism in my opinion.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Beer-swilling Flemings on the Road of Salvation.
By erisgeenhoop
Dimitri Verhulst takes off from where Louis Paul Boon , the often Nobel-prize nominated, socially conscious chronicler of the industrial revolution in Flanders left it. The former sixteen hours a day textile workers or Feet Warming marauders are now lowly employed or social benefit receiving drunkards who try to make the best out of a life with little promises, but in which beer is a comforting constant.
It would all be quite depressing where it not for the writer's ability to put a humorous slant on things, something he also shares with his illustrious predecessor Boon.
There's another excellent Verhulst book translated into English: Problemski Hotel.
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