It has taken quite some time before Alfons de Ridder (better known as Willem Elsschot) got his due recognition as a major author even among his own people, the Flemish, and their northern brothers, the Dutch (who share a common language the same way the British and Americans do).
I consider him to be the most important Dutch language author of the 20th century. Quite a few Dutch and Flemish people share this opinion. Even though his work is little known outside the Dutch language area, Elsschot should really be considered as one of the great figures in world literature, on a par with internationally well known authors as Dickens, Victor Hugo, Chekhov or Cervantes. He did not write any long novels, only short stories. His complete works can be gathered in one 800 page volume. But the quality of these little gems....
As almost all of Elsschot's works, Villa des Roses is based on his personal experiences. It describes the life in a Paris boarding house around 1910. Especially touching is the description of the unfortunate love affair between the servant girl Louise and a young German boarding guest. But there are a lot of other interesting plots and characters in this short story of about 100 pages. Elsschot is a master of observation and phlegmatic, economical description. His simple style is extremely powerful.

Willem Elsschot was the pseudonym of Alfons De Ridder, who is widely considered a giant in Flemish literature. All of his works are very concise and "Cheese" is no different.

Within a mere 126 pages, Elsschot humorously recounts the tale of Frans Laarmans, an ordinary clerk, who tries his hand vainly at the cheese business. Laarmans is a clerk with General Marine and Shipbuilding Company and is quite content to plod along until a friend prods him to delve into the cheese business. What follows is a wonderfully wry and funny look at business. Larmaans is quite unsure about what to do when ten thousand wheels of the red-rinded Edam cheeses arrive at his doorstep. He knows he has to sell them all, but would rather first set up his office with a proper desk and typewriter. In the end, his business collapses predictably, but Laarman's failure saddens the reader. One feels for the shy clerk right from the beginning to the end.

Elsschot had a wonderful gift for telling a story in just a few pages and "Cheese" is a wonderful example of it. I was tempted to read more by the author but sadly found out that most of the rest of his work is out of print. Special thanks then to Granta Books for republishing this one.

Other pluses for the book are the bright red jacket, the price, and the crisp writing style. I finished the book in one sitting at the beach.

"Cheese" is just as delectable as the full-cream Edams featured in it. Dig in!

Great book, a fast read and it will make you laugh!
It might be a good idea to send some copies to the Enron executives.

I cannot remember the last time a book made me laugh out loud. In public. The self-deprecating flavor of the humor in this chronicle of an inept businessman is somewhere between Jerome K. Jerome and Jacques Tati. Highly recommended escapist, absurdist fun. Also for lovers of all things Belgian: Harry Pearson's comic travelogue "A Tall Man in a Low Land," which brings the 1933 Belgium of "Cheese" into the present.