Richard de Nooy Holds Audience Captive at the Launch of The Big Stick
by Amy on Jan 25th, 2012 
The launch of Richard de Nooy‘s second novel, The Big Stick, heralded the start of The Book Lounge‘s literary programme for 2012, and promised another year of vibrant and engaging literary discussion. Proprietor, Mervyn Sloman, wished the full house that had gathered a happy new year.
De Nooy, a South African author resident in Amsterdam, wrote this second novel in his loosely interwoven trilogy, about the challenges faced by a homosexual youth who – after his conservative family decide they cannot “bend him straight” – makes the transition from Zeerust to Amsterdam.
The author was joined at the podium by the award-winning writer, Lauren Beukes.
In her inimitable style, Beukes reflected on the standard assumptions a reader makes and quizzed him directly on his sexual orientation. De Nooy, comfortable with the line of enquiry, straightened things out for the audience, saying that, though he is not gay, he has gay friends who read and verified the authenticity of the text.
De Nooy then spoke about writing and humour, voicing his frustration with the difficulty of translating jokes that are difficult to express in another language. Beukes highlighted de Nooy’s walk tweets, which offer a dark combination of brilliant wit and exceptional poetry:
Dutch cyclists have children so that they can strap them to the handlebars, providing shelter from the rain. #walk
Richard de Nooy
RicharddeNooy
Night owls chase the garbage truck, eyes wide, their hooting calls to “halt” unheard. #walkRichard de Nooy
RicharddeNooy
Let me tell you about the rain: seeping bastard, bark blacker, head wetter, puddle filler, street shiner, cloud shaper, life giver. #walkRichard de Nooy
RicharddeNooy
De Nooy said he would suffer from sensory overload if he lived and walked in Cape Town. “Holland is so grey. Here, the colours, the beauty…I’d use too many adjectives!”
During the question and answer session with the audience, de Nooy reflected on the in-your-face sexuality of the narrative, and the ways in which this explicitness has been received. “In Amsterdam, sexuality is much more out there. You can’t pass a shop window without seeing a dildo for sale. Not one of the Dutch reviewers remarked on the sexuality in The Big Stick I guess you could say, the Dutch really get the cock out there. Maybe I’ve been tainted?”
He closed the evening by paying tribute to his editor, Helen Moffett, and award-winning book designer, Joey Hi-Fi.
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Liesl Jobson tweeted from the launch using #livebooks:
@RicharddeNooy is at the Book Lounge for launch of his 2nd novel, The Big Stick, part of a loose trilogy. #livebooks http://t.co/PCbV2OJ3
Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
#livebooks De Nooy’s debut novel, Six Fang Marks and a Tetanus Shot won UJ First Novel Award.Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
#livebooks Beukes says novel about decadence in Amsterdam. De Nooy says not considered decadent in Amsterdam gay scene.Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
#livebooks RDN: Initial response to book implied I was gay but wrote as straight man, checking facts with gay friends. An assumption made!Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
#livebooks Autobiographical elements from my youth explore possible life I could have inhabited but didn’t. Diff voices have own memories.Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
#livebooks RDN: Young gay man grows up in Zeerust. Family tries to bend him straight. At 17 they send him to Dutch oupa to avoid military.Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
#livebooks Conservative woman goes into Amsterdam gay scene to unpack her son’s death. She encounters their animosity for her part in death.Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
#livebooks Rastafarian coke dealer is employed as her guide. He is brash in his opinion of gay folk, and of her, yet trust emerges.Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
#livebooks Responsibility is not to write a freak show, to add depth to the topic. Writer learns new things, add details, new dimensions.Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
#livebooks Whether book goes into African fiction ghetto, gay fic ghetto at Exclusive Books out of my hands, but the more labels the better.Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
#livebooks Humour helps make the content more palatable. Also coping mechanism & group mode of communication. If we didn’t laugh we’d weep.Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
#livebooks To people outside SA the post-robbery, post-beating “thank God we weren’t raped” comment is incomprehensible, but is how we cope.Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
#livebooks Walk tweets now come to 5000 words. These could form part of story of man who lives life on Internet, who walks to dissociate.Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
#livebooks I used my mother’s matter of fact pragmatism, her waltzing in and asking questions she isnt ready for as the prototype for Alma.Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
#livebooks @RicharddeNooy: in novel you give someone a past, give them their humanity. Can’t write someone off as psychopath. Difficult!Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
#livebooks Q&A wrapping up. RDN reads own work aloud for rhythm & slang. Have to avoid quagmire. Michiel Heyns helped, as did Helen Moffett.Liesl Jobson
LieslJobson
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Book details
- The Big Stick by Richard de Nooy
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EAN: 9781431402687
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