BookTalk introduces readers to a carefully chosen, provocative selection of novels for reading and informal discussion, considering the author’s writing techniques and the character’s personal journeys. Readings include translations of books from other countries and cultures in the search for fictions that illuminate the lives and understanding of those from all across the globe.
This class focuses on The Remembered Soldier (2025) by Anjet Daanje. A Dutch historical novel and finalist for the 2025 National Book Award for Translated Literature, The Remembered Soldier is a captivating novel about the power of memory and imagination. Noon Merckern, a World War I veteran with amnesia, is taken from a psychiatric asylum against medical advice by Julienne, who claims to be his wife. They resume married life with two children and a photography shop, as Noon tries to reconstruct his memories based on what Julienne tells him. He suffers tumultuous nightmares of the war and trusts neither these recollections nor those told by Julienne. This gripping story about the healing of a soldier’s mind is dreamlike and psychologically profound.
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