Book Presentation: | Maarten Asscher’s | Apples and Oranges

Tue, Apr 28 - Wed, Dec 31  1969

Maarten Asscher will present his latest book Apples and Oranges. In Praise of Comparisons at The Netherland Club of New York on April the 28^th. Asscher (1957) is a renowned writer, lawyer and the director of the Athenaeum Bookstore in Amsterdam. Apples and Oranges was praised by Dutch critics for its original visions and its graceful and elegant style. 

About the Book

What does it mean when people say ‘You can’t compare apples and oranges?’ Are comparisons across genres inherently invalid, or can they be insightful and illuminating? In this brilliant and provocative collection of essays, Dutch author Maarten Asscher maintains that comparisons can be the highest form of argument.

Asscher makes his case with examples drawn from classical to contemporary history, art, and literature: Hamlet in Ithaca and Telemachus in Elsinore, the Mediterranean and the North Sea, writing from a prison cell and writing from a room at home, the suicide of Primo Levi and Japanese Kamikaze pilots, and so on. With graceful erudition and idiosyncratic wit, Asscher demonstrates how the comparative method can provide insight not only into two subjects simultaneously, but also into fundamental issues they may have in common.

The presentation will be in English and is free of charge for members of The Netherlands Club. Non-members can buy tickets for $10 in cash at the door.

For more information visit: http://www.netherlandclub.com/events/49-Book+Presentation+by+Maarten+Asscher.html