"This wonderful novel, wittily translated from the Dutch by Brian Doyle, looks like a jolly comedy. It is very funny in its pitiless chronicling of human weakness, but there are disturbing undertones. The setting is a Dutch seaside resort in the 1950s. Ludo, the son of a hotelier, is about to marry Liza, the daughter of a German sausage-maker. But Liza wants escape from her parents and Ludo wants Liza’s money — and the spectres of war and occupation are never far off. Liza’s mother hates the match, Ludo hates the memory of his Jewish grandfather, and it can only end in tears. Hilarious comedy only highlights the tragedy."  The Times

 

"The German wedding is a riotous comedy....ridiculously entertaining!"

The Glasgow Herald 

"Waterdrinker satirises German's postwar economic miracle. No one is spared in this very bleak black comedy." The Financial Times.

 "This is an exceptionally vivid European novel that will charm and delight its readers. It brought to my mind Marina Lewckya's novel: A Short History of Tractors In Ukrainian. It's uncanny, funny and full of characters that both entice and appall you. It's set in a seaside resort not far from Amsterdam in 1958. It evolves around the Bagman family from Holland and their future in laws from Cologne, Germany - the Benders. Liza Bender is to marry Ludo Bagman. The story has its fair share of calamity and there is some sadness too. The epilogue was written wonderfully where Felix Bagman, younger brother to Ludo rounds off the story wonderfully. A delightful read."

  David Yates  (livingsocial.com)

 

Pieter Waterdrinker’s clever wedding farce isn’t the average boy meets girl story. Here, rich girl meets conniving boy; girl fakes pregnancy to trap boy, boy lies through teeth to get hands on her colossal inheritance – and breathtaking ‘knockers’ – and respective families are invited to wedding party of the year. The German in-laws arrive at a Dutch seaside town in 1958, with a full oompah brass band in tow, oblivious to the bitter post-war, ‘anti-Kraut’ resentment filling the air.

The scene is set to end with, in the language of TV listings, ‘hilarious consequences’. And it does, with Liza’s bitchy, Lady Muck mother cavorting with young hotel staff, and the groom chasing skirt into toilets and Nazi party meetings. But under the camp soap opera icing, Waterdrinker’s plot conceals a poison-laced cake, where wartime crimes and national shame rear their ugly heads. A comedy of bad manners, full of bad people, and good fun.

(The List Books UK)