＊本书有英语样张
＊年轻荷兰作者Karolien Berkvens是八位获得荷兰文学基金会首次作家奖的作家之一，获得一万欧元的奖金。这是一个非常大的光荣！这本书同时活动 Dioraphte Literatour Prijs 2016的提名，获得一万五欧元的奖金。
＊本书的德国编辑说：“You know you're just witnessing a young author's beginning of a great career, when this young author is capable of so accurately narrating from within the inner life of a retired and deeply shaken man. Karolien Berkvens' debut is a tightly woven profile, a chamber play, about a man loosing his footing, showing us how thin the ice is, we're all standing on.”
＊本书的荷兰编辑说：“That wonderful thing happened when you know you’ve got something special within the first few pages. When you have the sense that an author really knows what he’s doing, that he thought carefully about every sentence, every word. It made the editing process a feast. I just had to sharpen each sentence in the best possible way. It was truly a lot of fun working with Karolien. Loet Zimmerman is a loveable anti-hero, who reminds us of Jack Nicholson in 'About Schmidt'. You cannot but love him.”
 
Loet Zimmerman是一位非常非常、非常非常规律的人。他的人身被切割成许多50分钟的时段。这四十年来，他负责管理学校的时间表，于是时间以及守时是他人生的一切。现在，他即将退休，而他恐惧的是将来所有空出来，不需要分割成50分钟，的时间。但是，他经历了一件改变他所有认知的事件：在他的退休晚会那一晚，他被一位年轻人抢劫，手表被偷走。这个暴力的抢劫案狠狠地摇动了他的世界，更逼出他压抑多年对于死去的妻子Lucy的哀痛。
 
Zimmerman相信那个人还在街上，还想来找他。但是，警察跟他儿子都不太理会他。于是Zimmerman决定自己去抓贼。《Zimmerman的时机到来》无疑是荷兰2015年最亮眼的首部小说。书中充满幽默、敏锐的观察力、充满变异的角色以及心理学。这是一本关于失去、焦炉以及跟时间对抗的书。
 
关于作者：
Karolien Berkvens出生于1986年，在阿姆斯特丹大学学习戏剧。她写过许多舞台剧，目前住在柏林。这是她的第一本小说。
 
好评：
»ZIMMERMAN'S HOUR is without a doubt the best debut of 2015. It contains composed humor, keen observations, variation in the voice of the characters and a keen psychological insight, all in a style to lick one’s fingers. [...] One thing is certain: this debut should definitely not be the end of a prolific career as a literary writer. The Dutch literature needs this new voice that is averse to grotesque exaggeration, sterile shock or soporific navel-gazing. Read this book.« Lode Goukens
 
»We can add The Hour of Zimmerman by Karolien Berkvens to the list of successful debuts this year. [...] The Hour of Zimmerman is novel about a wounded creature of habit; about a loss, which the main character is suddenly – now that he’s retired and has the time – painfully aware of; about the consequences of a robbery which may be more far-reaching than most people think; and about the relationship between parent and child.«
Guus Bauer, Tzum
 
»Karolien Berkvens plays with language in a very skillful way. She writes perfectly smooth prose with short but powerful sentences. The characters are lifelike and given depth beautifully. The events are outlined with strong visual finery. The story’s humor is modest and nicely composed. Occasional phrases in the story are almost poetic [..] Berkvens’ aversion to far-fetched metaphors is what makes the book very readable. The story deals with themes such as senseless violence, fear, traumas and the loss of a loved one. Once the reader has started reading this book, there will be no putting it down. It fascinates until the last page. Berkvens has written a wonderful book of very high quality that deserves five stars.« ***** De Perfecte Buren
 
»It is a first-rate achievement of Karolien Berkvens to, as a debutante of 29 years old, give such a monumental and nuanced rendition of a 65-year old man in just 175 pages.« ZIN magazine
 
»Karolien Berkvens does surprise us with this debut, this intimate and moving deconstruction of a structured life. Karolien brings the story to life with small, everyday scenes. While reading this story about the loss of control of time, I frequently caught myself losing track of it. In this case, it seems to me that that’s a good sign.« Recensieweb.nl