Writer, artist and translator, Bette Adriaanse, visited Northumbria University recently to discuss her new book, 'Rus Like Everyone Else'. Hubstar Mickyle went along to find out what it was all about.
Fitting into or living outside the system is never easy, as Bette writes in her recently published story, 'Rus Like Everyone Else'. In the book, she explores the changes of characters in their own life cycles, and shows how life is a progression of time which changes through experiences and stories. Bette Adriaanse explores the levels in life, stating that we should all see life from different heights at which we tell our stories and view our experiences.
The story begins with an abandoned man - Rus - who spends his life in an illegal apartment and lacks basic skills which come to cause problems when interacting with other people. Having these problems leads to Rus being discovered by the Government, who demand payment of tax from him, sending him a bill which forces him back into society.
Rus, only one of the numerous characters in the book, is regularly observed by a postal worker, who creates wild scenarios she believes are real along her route. Next is a secretary struggling to make any human connections, while her affair with her boss isn't helping her situation any further. There's the delivery man who strives to make a name for himself, but his ambitions don't seem to match his immigrant rank. Another character, a lonely batchelor, struggles to overcome his paranoia, and may finally accomplish something at a rally for the Queen. And finally, an old woman spontaneously steals hand creams to compensate for the cancellation of her favourite programme, the star of the soap opera begins to question her existence, as something clearly has gone off-track.
In the above video, you will hear a reading by Beth Adriaanse herself, introducing one of the many characters in her book. She further explains how she crafted the idea for the book, and the definition of some of the themes.
