Q&A with Anna Enquist

De Thuiskomst/The Homecoming by bestselling Dutch author Anna Enquist was translated and published earlier this year. We have asked our members and newsletter subscribers what they wanted to ask Anna Enquist if they could ask her one question. We have received lovely and well thought of questions. Both personal and in specific regards to her book The Homecoming.

Anna Enquist has been so kind to answer the questions we received and has made sure that the people who sent them will receive a copy of The Homecoming.

The NLCLUB likes to thank both Anna Enquist and everyone who participated for their time and effort. Below you will find the questions and answers.

Is it true that Captain James Cook was able to convince his crew to come on long ocean voyages only by claiming the world was flat?

How is Captain Cook believed to have died according to the closest sources? (Christiaan Brakman)
Captain Cook was a skilled astronomer and knew perfectly well that the earth was a globe. He planned to sail around it! And he had no need to entice his crew with alluring stories to sail with him. He was a popular commander because he kept his men healthy by caring about their food and not believing in corporal punishment. However, at the end of his life he seemed to have undergone a change in character: he behaved quite harsh against the inhabitants of Hawaii, got entangled in a fight about a stolen boat, was whacked on the head and died. The last three weeks of his journals are missing. A few years ago some drawings by a crewmember were discovered. They depict this struggle on the beach of the island. (Anna Enquist)

Do you see parts of yourself in Elizabeth? What about the women that are close to you? (Taylor Duncan)
Well, luckily the circumstances in a womans life have changed a lot since the 18th century, as it is now possible for a married woman to have a professional life. Elisabeth would certainly have liked that. Anyway, I recognise the proces of waiting and welcoming your husband after a long period, as my husband was a musician and travelled a lot with his orchestra. In the first chapter of the novel Elisabeth feels the tension caused by the homecoming: she will be glad to be together again and at the same time sees the easy way of living with her children disrupted. (Anna Enquist)

Is the consolation one finds in music different from the solace one can find in literature? (Dirk Salomons)
Yes, I think it certainly is. For literature you need words, and we only begin to think in words when we are four years old. In the years before that time melodies and rhythms are the most important to expres our feelings. So it is quite logical that music is able to reach a deeper and earlier layer of feeling in us. (Anna Enquist)

For the NLCLUB NYC
June 8th, 2022