Herman Koch
(Arnhem, NL 1953) had his international breakthrough with The Dinner, a novel that spent weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, has been published in 37 countries, and has been adapted for stage and screen. The dark story of boys from a good family who murder a drifter mainly addresses the question of how responsible parents are for the misdeeds of their children. Adolescent behaviour was also the theme of Koch's debut novel, Red ons, Maria Montanelli (Save Us, Maria Montanelli, 1989). In Zomerhuis met zwembad (Summer Cottage with Pool, 2011), he again showed how easily successful people can fall from grace. His characters inevitably say or do unexpected things, which is also the case in his short-story collection Korte geschiedenis van het bedrog (A Short History of Deception, 2013). In his latest novel, Geachte heer M. (Dear Mr. M.), he takes aim at Dutch writers. Koch is also a columnist and an actor, as well as the creator of Jiskefet, an absurdist public-television series.
Past events
Mind this book
What poems are better left unread and which books are a bad influence on one's mental health? The authors have at each other with gruesome examples.
Talking to the writer: Herman Koch
Join the writer! In Dutch.
The Text of my Life: Herman Koch
Which texts from world literature has Dutch writer Herman Koch cherished as long as he lives? In Dutch.
Buy me!
'Buy me!' the eyes of many a writer scream at many a talkshow table. Is the show more important than the contents? Nadia Bouras unravels the commercialisation of literature with Anne Provoost and P. F. Thomése. Herman Koch opens the programme. In Dutch.
Writers and film: Herman Koch
The film The Dinner, based on the international bestseller The Dinner had its premiere recently. Elsbeth Etty talks to writer Herman Koch who shows his choice of film fragments about bad characters that manage to gain our sympathy. In Dutch.
Wintercafé 1: Herman Koch
Specially for Winternachten Koch wrote a ‘short history of deceit’, in cooperation with DeBuren in Brussels. The Wintercafé is hosted this entire Friday-night by Hassnae Bouazza and Petra Possel. In Dutch.
