Hubert Lampo is probably one of the best Belgian (and not Dutch as the New Zealand reviewer mistakenly states) writers, almost all of whose books - some of which were written in the fourties - are still in reprint in Flemish, his language of origin. This magic-realistic story, set against the backdrop of my much beloved magical Antwerp, is a pearl in the crown of Lampo. Nothing is exactly as it seems - and basically this is a New Age novel avant la lettre, were synchronicity, or serendipity, strikes relentlessly. He is a writer who manifestly has been deeply touched by the Seven Muses, whom I even suspect of hiding direct personal mystical experience under his modesty, painting his books beyond-reality with a deep care of humanity, a warm romantic soul with a disarming belief in true love and homerian linguistic virtuosity...This book has been translated in English, Romenian, Swedish, Afrikaans, Polish, Chech and Spanish, and has also been turned into a feature film. I love this author and his entire oeuvre, of which I hope more will be translated into English in the future.
Otherwise you'll simply have to learn Flemish. Good luck!

This Dutch novel by Hubert Lampo was written in the early sixties as a manifestasion of the "magic realism" school. "De komst van Joachim Stiller" is probably the best and most famous of Lampo's novels (e.g. "Terugkeer naar Atlantis"). Within the novel every day occurrences are loaded with magical/supernatural meaning and thus transcend the boundaries of normal significance. Human existenced is thus imbued with new and extra-ordinary frameworks that open up new horizons on human endeavour. A must for any person who aspires to a fuller understanding of the road we travell on.

confusing, but yet so logical. There's no way of explaninig the book, you just have to 'know' . It's too easy to measure the worls only comparing to ourselves(humanbeings). There's more than that world. Am not religious or an extreme hippie, but am quite interested in the relativety bteween the now and, let's call it now as well...?...!...?...!...