{"product_id":"the-ascent-a-house-can-have-many-secrets-hardcover","title":"The Ascent: A House Can Have Many Secrets - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eStefan Hertmans\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eDavid McKay\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn this revealing and poignant story, Stefan Hertmans uncovers haunting details about the previous owner of his house and the crime he committed as a member of the Nazi police.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 1979 Stefan Hertmans became obsessed with a rundown townhouse in Ghent. The previous owners were mentioned only in passing during the acquisition, and it wasn't until the new millennium, long after he had sold the house, that he came across a memoir\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eby the owner's son Adriaan Verhulst, a distinguished history professor and a former teacher of Hertmans', which revealed that his father was a former SS officer.\u003cbr\u003e Hertmans finds he is profoundly haunted by images of the family as ghostly presences in the rooms he had once known so well, he begins a journey of discovery--not to tell the story of Adriaan's father, but rather the story of the house and the people who lived in it and passed through it. Archives, interviews with relatives and personal documents help him imagine the world of this house as they reveal not only a marital drama, but also a connection between past visitors to the house and important figures in the culture and politics of Flanders now.\u003cbr\u003e A stunning and immersive reimagining of a family in a historical moment of great upheaval confirms Hertmans' always brilliant melding of fiction and nonfiction.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSTEFAN HERTMANS\u003c\/b\u003e is an internationally acclaimed Flemish author. For more than twenty years he was a professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Ghent, where he wrote novels, poems, essays, and plays. His first book in English, \u003ci\u003eWar and Turpentine\u003c\/i\u003e, was longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize and awarded the prestigious AKO Literature Prize in 2014. His last book, \u003ci\u003e The Convert\u003c\/i\u003e, was a finalist for the 2020 National Jewish Book Awards. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eTranslated from the Dutch by David McKay\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 384\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.5 x 9.3 x 6.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e August 29, 2023\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51764537917728,"sku":"9780593316467","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/97c0627de612a900f7fe278d23e815b6.webp?v=1780251439","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-ascent-a-house-can-have-many-secrets-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}