Blocks, Growling Creatures, Bint
Bordewijk was associated with the New Objectivity movement because of his cold-blooded style, but the graphic imagery and magical quality of his stories consistently marked him as a great man of letters. He outdid himself with the character of headmaster Bint, who demands iron self-control and discipline from his pupils.
Contrary to its author’s intentions, Bint became notorious, reaping both praise and moral condemnation. Was Bordewijk’s tale a parable of the failure of human discipline or a plea for totalitarian education? With fascism on the rise, readers felt uncomfortable with Bint’s philosophy of submission to pain and the subjugation of the will.
Verbal artistry with a veneer of objectivity also characterized his novels of the early 1930s. Blocks is a nightmare vision of a future state in which communist ideals are pursued to the point of madness. In Growling Creatures, cosmopolitan automobiles seize power from their owners.
Bordewijk’s style is often described as ‘reinforced concrete’.
When speaking of himself as a writer, F. Bordewijk always used the third person.
The film based on Character won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film of 1998.
Ferdinand Bordewijk (1884-1965) made his prose debut in an unusual genre uncommon for the Netherlands - three compilations of 'Fantastische vertellingen' (‘Fantastic Narratives’).