A New York state of mind

Morel, 26, is a PhD student at the University of Ghent whose love for American literature made him want to be a writer. "I really wanted to become part of the English literary market, especially the literary world in New York," he says. "So first I had to write in English because there's no way to do that in translation; it would just never happen."

After studying English, writing in English came naturally enough to him. But publishing in English was an entirely different ball game. After no less than 80 rejection letters from US publishers and agents, Morel (pictured) finally landed a contract with UK publisher The Knives, Forks and Spoons Press but still dreams of breaking the US market. "It's a lot harder to enter that American literary field, especially as an outsider. But if I succeeded, I'd reach a bigger audience."

The Ferris Wheel can in fact be described as a New York novel, an urban treatise where the city isn't just a location but an intricate part of the story. Morel: "I never intended to write a New York story; I was writing an American novel set in the US, a bit like Jack Kerouac's On the Road because there are several scenes where Paul [the main character] is on the road. But then I went to New York in 2008 and fell in love with the city."

New York has famously inspired many American authors, such as Paul Auster, Edith Wharton, Don DeLillo and of course Bret Easton Ellis. Morel admits that Ellis' American Psycho and Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City were big influences. The so-called Brat Pack authors portray a dangerous and darker side of the city that is usually forgotten by contemporary literature. "New York was a terrible city in the '80s, but it was so much more alive, and that's what fascinates me," says Morel. "When you walk around now at 3.00 you feel perfectly safe, but it wasn't like that then. Instead, you had sex, drugs, partying, violence and yuppies. Brat pack writers incorporated the gritty reality, but they also show you a time of irresponsibility and dreams. The concept of failure wasn't there yet."

Morel's main character, Paul, flees his provincial life for New York to pursue his dreams. They are dreams that is no longer feasible in contemporary society, but that doesn't stop him because he somehow believes that this Dream still lives on, especially in New York. "Everyone I met in New York is not just a waiter or working in a hotel - they all have a dream, and they come to New York to accomplish it," explains Morel. "Although 99.9% of them will fail, they still believe in that American dream, and that feeling is still very much alive in this city. It's the city of opportunity. That's what I fell in love with, so if I ever want to be a writer of American literature, that's where I have to be."

Both Morel and Paul are outsiders trying to get a grip on a city full of hope and disillusionment, but that's where the comparison ends. Paul is an everyman, with delusions of grandeur. "There's a lot of Paul in every man, I think, because you think that when you grow up, you're going to drive a Porsche, date Gisele Bündchen and big things will come to you. But that's not going to happen."

The story is about being happy with who you are, but "someone like Paul does not see that because he keeps on believing that he was made for bigger things," says Morel. "That's one of the key mistakes anyone can make. There's a little Paul in everybody."

This fear of failure and a lingering feeling of unfulfilled desire is reflected in the book's title. "The event at the Ferris wheel in the first chapter deeply effects Paul at a young age, but at the same time, it symbolises a vicious circle. Paul is stuck in the Ferris wheel of life, unable to get out and do something about the situation."

Morel is currently working on a Dutch translation which will be published by Artus in May.

Fresh Fiction

This week sees the first edition of Mind the Book, a new annual event mutually supported by the cities of Antwerp and Ghent. The international literary festival and book fair in Antwerp's deSingel brings more than 80 authors, essayists and journalists together for discussions and interviews and will also sell their books. Here are the books we most recommend by a handful of the authors appearing at Mind the Book.

Gitte
Kristien Hemmerechts
Kristien Hemmerechts is a one-woman Flemish literary institution. Often writing about children and loss, her new novel deals with a past tragedy that still has disastrous consequences for a young girl who lives in an otherwise idyllic home. It's a melancholy tale about love, religion and the loss of innocence narrated by an engaging and feisty main character.

Clausewitz
Joost de Vries
Dutch author Joost de Vries' debut novel is an exhilarating tale of a young researcher who goes in search of a cult author, reclusive for more than 30 years. He soon stumbles onto an intricate web of lies, peppered with paranoid academics. Clausewitz is written in a smoulderingly suggestive style that is lathered with lingering metaphors. This exciting quest filled with literature, war and politics is reminiscent of the late Chilean author Roberto Bolano.

Zomerhuis met zwembad (Summer House with Swimming Pool)
Herman Koch
Dutch author Herman Koch's last book, Het Diner, sold over 300,000 copies and made him one of the most popular contemporary writers in the Netherlands. His latest fiction deals with a general practitioner who makes one tiny mistake that ultimately kills one of his patients. But was it really a mistake or did the good doctor just even the score with a man who got too friendly with Mrs Schlosser? If you're looking for a cynical and witty page turner, look no further.

De Begraafplaats van Praag (The Prague Cemetery)
Umberto Eco
Legendary Italian author Umberto Eco is back with a new multi-layered novel that delves into conspiracy theories and anti-Semitism, causing uproar in the Catholic realms of Italy. Begraafplaats van Praag (the English translation isn't expected until November) is about a master forger called Simonini who suffers from amnesia and tries to regain his memory through an experimental form of auto-hypnosis. His past is gradually unveiled in this challenging novel about deception and destruction by the master of contemporary mind games.