The Following Story

The Following Story centers on Herman Mussert, a former classics teacher turned travel writer who awakens in a Lisbon hotel room with no explanation of how he got there from his Amsterdam apartment the previous night. The room holds significance as the site of a past romantic encounter from his teaching days. The narrative connects to Mussert's history at a Dutch school where he taught Latin and Greek, involving a complex web of relationships between teachers and a student that led to tragedy and professional consequences. After leaving his teaching career, Mussert adopted the pen name Strabo and established himself as a travel writer. The book follows Mussert's movements through Lisbon and onto a ship bound for Brazil and the Amazon River, weaving between present experiences and memories of his past life. Through these alternating timeframes, the novel explores classical philosophy, mortality, and the fluid nature of time and memory.

Readers describe The Following Story as a cerebral, dreamlike meditation that requires careful attention. The prose style and philosophical themes resonate with some while frustrating others. Readers appreciated: - The elegant, precise language and translation - Complex interweaving of classics, science, and philosophy - Subtle humor throughout - Short length that rewards rereading Common criticisms: - Meandering plot that's difficult to follow - Too many classical references and academic digressions - Characters feel cold and distant - Ending leaves too many questions Average ratings: Goodreads: 3.5/5 (1,200+ ratings) Amazon: 3.7/5 (40+ ratings) One reader noted: "Like watching someone else's dream - beautiful but just out of reach." Another wrote: "The academic showing-off gets in the way of the story." The book appears to resonate most with readers who enjoy experimental literary fiction and don't require traditional narrative structures.

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino Similar metafictional structure that blends reality with narrative philosophy while exploring the nature of storytelling and existence.

All Souls by Javier Marías Chronicles a Spanish professor's time in Oxford with similar themes of academic life, memory, and complex relationships in educational settings.

The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon by Richard Zimler Uses the same Portuguese setting to examine history, philosophy, and mortality through an intricate narrative structure.

Austerlitz by W. G. Sebald Employs comparable techniques of memory exploration and intellectual discourse while following a professor's investigation into his past.

The Defense by Vladimir Nabokov Features a protagonist whose academic expertise intersects with personal crisis in ways that mirror Mussert's classical background and life changes.

🔸 The novel won the prestigious European Literature Prize in 1993, solidifying Nooteboom's reputation as one of the Netherlands' most celebrated contemporary writers. 🔸 Cees Nooteboom worked as a travel writer before focusing on fiction, which influenced his detailed descriptions of locations like Lisbon and the authenticity of the novel's travel elements. 🔸 The book's original Dutch title "Het volgende verhaal" plays with multiple meanings of "following" - both sequential and pursuing - which adds another layer to the story's themes of journey and pursuit. 🔸 The protagonist's background in classics mirrors Nooteboom's own deep interest in classical literature, particularly evident in the novel's references to Ovid's Metamorphoses. 🔸 The novel's unique structure, moving between life and death, was partially inspired by the author's experiences during a near-fatal illness in the late 1980s.