Pallieter by Felix Timmermans
Pallieter is a regional novel by the Flemish writer and poet Felix Timmermans , published in 1916. The novel is named after his main character Pallieter, a bon vivant who lives under the motto 'seize the day'. The book tells the story of the lively Pallieter wholivesin idyllic Lier with his housekeeper Charlot. Day in and day out, he travels to the Nete Valley, where he carefree enjoys the paradisiacal landscape. Both in Flanders and in the Netherlands was Pallieter wildly popular. The fact that the novel was received so successfully was partly due to the fact that the book was published during the war. In these circumstances, a novel full of joy of life and enjoyment was welcomed with open arms. In the course of the 1920s, Timmermans' success began to decline in the more refined literary circles. [1] Pallieter was also banned by the Catholic Church in 1920 because Timmermans would mock it with the Catholic faith. Today, Pallieter is mainly labeled as 'brave pile-reading literature', where the glorification of one's own soil is central. In this context, the novel is often linked to Flemish nationalism. [2]