The titel is probably a bit strange for the other-than-dutch-speaking out there.
It translates into Speechless for those interested.
I'm not sure this novel has been translated into other languages.
It's from a flemish author who grew up in the same neighborhood I know from spending a few years and in this novel he's telling the story of his mother.
It's a very warm and heartfelt story he tells from her early days until the day she dies.
The reason he needed her story on paper is because she suffered a stroke a few years before she died, losing coherent speech, which marked him terribly.
I loved the story, partly because I know the streets and places he names in his story, mainly because he has the ability to breathe life into the story. It felt like I knew them when I closed the book.
You can't expect a 'novel' when opening this story, he makes that very clear from the beginning, instead you get a collection of memories, recollections and snapshots of his and her past. And I can't think of any better way to honor those who've mattered so much.
