Born in Rotterdam just after the end of World War II, Nelleke Noordervliet grew up with stories of occupation, resistance and fear. The need to be free from fear is important to her as a writer.

Nelleke Noordervliet - 'The Apostate'

Nelleke Noordervliet studied Dutch literature and language before making her literary debut in 1987 with ‘Tine of De dalen waar het leven woont’ (Tine, or The Valleys Where Life Lives). A fictitious diary of the wife of 19th century Dutch writer Multatuli, the book immediately established her as a major figure in contemporary Dutch literature.

Noordervliet’s work often has a historical backdrop and concerns women who struggle against a hostile society. Her 1991 novel ‘Het oog van de engel’ (The Eye of the Angel) is about an unusual young Dutch woman during the time of the French Revolution who sees the world “through different eyes.”

Ongoing consequences
Lives from the 18th and 20th centuries are intermingled in her 2002 book ‘Pelican Bay’ which takes on an often repressed chapter in Dutch colonial history. “In the 18th century, as now,” says Noordervliet, “waves of people were on the move, religions met one another, cultural differences became apparent. They were and are times of ferment, temporary upheaval, and they have ongoing consequences.” 

“It begins in Holland, in Vlissingen, two hundred years ago. In London. On St. George d’Elmina. Or somewhere at sea beneath a dazzling, star-encrusted sky. It could also begin in the village of De Bilt, thirty years ago. Yes, it could even begin here, on this Caribbean island, thirty, fifty, two hundred years ago. With a murder. It can begin at any random moment in a handful of crucial places. I pick up the thread of the fabric and follow it, irrevocably here.”

Noordervliet’s latest novel ‘Snijpunt’ (Intersection) takes on themes of religion, belief and humanism in contemporary society when a Dutch school teacher is the victim of a knife attack by one of her Moroccan students.

Freedom of expression
At a symposium on neo-censorship last year, part of Amsterdam’s tenure as World Book Capital, Noordervliet gave a lecture in which she expressed her feelings about religious freedom:

“In my opinion constitutional freedom of religion is not necessary. It just makes easy things more complicated. Freedom of religion is covered by freedom of expression. Religion is an opinion in itself, nothing more, nothing less, however sacred we may hold that opinion. In freedom of expression the constitution guarantees the right to express your opinion, and keeps the manifestations of religion in the realm of privacy.”

A clash of religious beliefs is an important element in Noordervliet’s story for RadioBooks. A mysterious young Dutchman living in New York City in the 1960’s befriends his neighbours - a newlywed couple grappling with a serious problem.

“Though he saw his upstairs neighbors only rarely, he received regular updates through the ceiling on the ebb and flow of their new marriage. A light sleeper, he sometimes woke in the night to a scrabble of activity above him, ending in muted voices and the click of the cord turning out the light. About three months after their arrival, he heard one of the two crying—a plaintive wail, followed by a hiss—and he pricked up his ears to find out if the sobs had been choked back or muffled with a pillow. What sorrow had come to mar their young happiness?”

‘The Apostate’ by Nelleke Noordervliet was translated by David McKay. The story is read by David Swatling.

The series Radio Books is an initiative of the Flemish-Dutch Huis de Buren in Brussels, in association with the Flemish radio broadcaster Klara and Radio Netherlands Worldwide.