Karin Amatmoekrim has recently published her third novel, Titus (2009). Set in London, Copenhagen, Barcelona, and New York, Titus is about a man who loses his wife and embarks on a quest to find meaning in his existence. The novel is about freedom and about what people do with the choices they have in their lives. Are we doomed to chaos or do we determine the unfolding of our lives? (Partly because of this questioning and partly due to the simplicityof her literary language, Amatmoekrim has been compared to French existentialist Albert Camus.) These life issues are also the author’s, who says that Titus’ quest is, in part, hers: “These are the questions I ask myself when I look at the world. Not that Titus has the answers, but it helps to clarify many things and render them less threatening.”
Amatmoekrim has complained about being pigeon-holed in an ethnic corner, especially after the publication of her second novel, Wanneer wij samen zijn [When we are Together]. Because the novel was deemed “a Surinamese story,” the writer was automatically placed in the category of Surinamese ethnic writers who have little interest to other audiences. Amatmoekrim has difficulty understanding the mindset of the media: “I find it a little shortsighted. It’s not like we read Gabriel García Márquez because we have something to do with South America. We read these books because we like them.” She notes that Surinamese Dutch writers have not achieved that position.” Although she did not have a deliberate plan to abandon her Surinamese voice, Titus moves away from the ethnically-specific. “It is universal.t is international. It is simply,” claims Amatmoekrim, “the story I want to tell at the moment. “
Karin Amatmoekrim was born in 1976 in Paramaribo, Suriname. In 1981 she emigrated to The Netherlands and has lived in Amsterdam since 1999. Amatmoekrim studied psychology and Dutch literature at the University of Amsterdam. In 2004 she published her debut novel Het knipperleven [Flashlife] and her second novel Wanneer wij samen zijn [When we are Together] in 2006. Since 2001 Karin Amatmoekrim has been working as a freelancer in marketing and communication.
For full review (in Dutch) by Peggy Brader, see http://www.rnw.nl/nl/caribiana/article/amatmoekrim-surinaamse-schrijvers-nog-teveel-etnisch-hoekje
Bio and photo from http://www.winternachten.nl/winternachten/adeelnemers.php?editie=10047&taal=engels
Book cover image from the author’s site http://www.amatmoekrim.com/site/?p=205
