Zeeland
or Elective Concurrences

Hans Koning

As intriguing as its title, this new novel by veteran author Koning is at once a coolly ironic indictment of man’s inhumanity to man, a touching love story and a provocative philosophical statement. . . . The reader’s adrenaline pumps nonstop . . . . surely a recommendation for what should turn out to be this distinguished writer’s breakout book.
—Publishers Weekly

Dickens taught us the fictional possibilities of coincidence; here, Koning gives us a potent refresher. . . . This is both an elegantly written experiment and a page-turner from a noted journalist . . . .
—Library Journal

Koning’s novel moves quickly and is thick with intrigue; it also has a generous measure of emotional complexity . . . . [a] deft, thoughtful novel.
—The New York Times Book Review

Koning evokes an atmosphere reminiscent of Alan Furst’s novels . . . . He scrutinizes the fallibility of human nature [and everyday life] with equal clarity . . . the novel maintains a cracking pace from start to finish. The characters and their settings linger like a dream. It’s quite an accomplishment that in a scant 250 pages Koning manages to make the different strands . . . mesh harmoniously. It’s a feat of economy and precision.
—Boston Review

Hans Koning is that rare combination--a masterful storyteller with a sense of history and a powerful social conscience. In Zeeland, all these qualities shine.
—Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States

Koning has lived an amazing and committed life, and it shows in this panoramic story. Zeelandis a fascinating and complex novel, written with great economy, yet rich in intriguing and magic details. It’s a great thriler, a touching love story, and above all, a carefully considered and beautifully realized work of art.
—John Nichols, author of The Milagro Beanfield War

Hans Koning’s masterful novel revolves around Michael Beauchamp, an American soldier caught in German-occupied France, as he flees across Southern Europe towards Gibraltar. He unknowingly follows his grandfather Michel Beauchamp’s footsteps, tracing his journey as the two men, separated by seventy years, elude armed pursuers across the wasteland of a continent ravaged by war.

about the author
Hans Koning is a prolific and critically acclaimed author who has served as a staff reporter for the New Yorker and the Atlantic Monthly.  He has published thirteen novels, several of which have been made into movies; ten non-fiction books; three plays; two translations; and a children's book.

also by Hans Koning:

The Affair

An American Romance

The Petersburg- Cannes Express

A Walk With Love and Death