it's poetry. true art. it gave me goosebumps and made me cry
-anonymous
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Beautiful!
The opening of the book takes place in 1984. We have to conclude that it is a timeless piece, that is to say, detached from time. Very light (sunny), high above the clouds, and very light (without gravity). As you read, you're on a plane, on your way, even if you have already arrived. On your way somewhere, where to does not matter yet, it seems.
She writes what she is, in an unmeasurable space, like a child, skipping from word to word, words like little crumbs that bring you home. That place in your soul where you know you are home, enveloped by the evening sun
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-Pim Kops
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ES Reflection
In reading this, we enter a setting that is perhaps unfamiliar to us, viewed through the eyes of someone whose experiences are perhaps vastly different from our own. Still, we fully comprehend and insert ourselves into the world that Spitz describes. The architecture that comes to life, the smells one cherishes or wishes to avoid, and how the girl doesn't so much wear her feelings on her sleeve as she is suspended in them, grasping for understanding and meaning. Her experiences remind us of that grim unifier, that we are all vulnerable and lost in the dark to some extent. It is that balancing act that gives us clarity, keeping one foot in the unknown and the other in explored territory. One without the other will ruin you, and Spitz demonstrates that it is the acceptance and embracing of this that makes us human.
-CT
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Very well written, with care. I find it interesting, recognizable. A person that is lost. An honest story. You don’t spare yourself.
-Xandra Lammers
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Chanel n' 19 my favorite scent! ......and then ice cold... genius.
Your book...... it won't let go of me.
Very beautifully written!
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-Hanke
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Your book is very beautifully structured and there are gems of descriptions in it. For example, Bo's death, and how in France we all pricked up our ears when the phone rang. You describe a whole world in a few sentences, incredibly well done.
I took the book everywhere and read like taking small bites from a bonbon.
It is really great. Man as being. I heard Marcel Messing talk about it that way too.
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-Esmé Lammers
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Thank you for ES, I find recognizable words in it and it moves me. I put it away and will reread it from time to time. Thanks. Thanks.
-Wouter Groothengel
former bookseller in Enschede
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your insights and observations resonate with me deeply. such a gift to enter your world of memories & dreams. has me thinking today about themes of separation & permeability as i leave my house and wander the city.
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-kya bliss
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ES has a great atmosphere and is a delight to disappear into. Written in the first person, ES invites the reader to spend time in the every day life and mind of a young Dutch student in the US, just before the arrival of the cell phone and the Internet, an era that seems extra far away today.
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-David Kops
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I finished the book yesterday, so beautiful! I am in love with your words, I can picture in my mind what you write, and I feel, feel feel.. I am so glad I got to read it. It has stayed with me all day.
(Nice to read by candlelight)
- Christine Verheyden
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Besides the fact that Ester gives a glimpse into the stirrings of her soul, she is also a philosopher.
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-Anouk
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Reading ES makes me nostalgic... An image, a container of an ordinary experience in a life that then becomes a kind of synecdoche in my head. A symbol. Or a signal. Or a sign?
-CRZ
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Let me begin by saying how honored I felt when I opened the package, what a beautifully produced, bibliophile book, published in a very limited edition, was entrusted to me! Truly beautiful, and for that alone, my heartfelt thanks!
I find it stunning and deeply moving. Not only does it shed light on one of the greatest mysteries of the twentieth century: Why "OÂÂur" Ester Suddenly Left for America, Leaving Us Behind in Astonishment, but it is also excellently written and very entertaining. I finished it in three sessions. What emotions, uncertainties, and adventures you must have experienced during those years. Now I also understand what you found in 'Julien' and how important he has been (and still is) for your stability. And all that traveling, all those locations, I could picture them so clearly in my mind (some places I recognized from TV, like The Valley from the documentary about Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young). Well, it’s very vividly and beautifully described. Sometimes moving. And, in general, also a great snapshot of how our generation sometimes struggled to find its way in the world of the eighties.
Somewhere you write that you believe we are more spirit, which is also an interesting topic. We are indeed spirit, but here, it’s meant for us to behave in a physical way. If the spirit is still too present, it can, in some cases, lead to unrest.
I’d be happy to sign up for part 2: How the Main Character’s Story Continued and the Matter of Motherhood.
-AvdZ
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Finished the book in one sitting. It’s beautiful, vulnerable and brave. A girl lost in the world. Looking for something to hold on to, but also realizing that it will not come to you, but that you will have to find it within yourself.
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-Marije Meerman
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I'm reading Simone De Beauvoir's biography. I think you would really like that! She lives her philosophy and then shapes her philosophy from her life. Reminded me a bit of your book.
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-Charlotte
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I finished the book. I am so impressed. It is very evocative!
Did you really spend so much time at hotels?
It is so vulnerable and so brave and good.
Is it from journals? From memory?
I woke up thinking I need to read it again.
-mcollins
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A little note to tell you that I find you and your writing incredibly inspiring. I’ve been buried in your book the past two days. It mirrors so very much of my own feelings and questions and it makes me feel connected to something intangible and less alone. I am reading it in spurts because I can’t get enough, but I also don’t want it to end.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful life and writing.
It is so meaningful.
I walked into Stories in Echo Park. I looked through all of the biographies they have (biographies and memoirs are my favorite thing). I found nothing on the shelf. Then on my way out I saw a little carousel with some books I already love dearly and then your beautiful, minimal cover caught my eye. I opened to the middle and read a few excerpts and then started reading the beginning. My whole being just lit up. My soul got so excited, I bought it immediately. It was the very thing my whole being was asking for.
What you have given is so beautiful and true and rare.
To be honest, I am afraid to finish it because I love it so much.
I’d also like to add that my writing desk is like a self-portrait of my favorite books and little items and your book is now among them.
-Stevie Kincheloe
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