Book of My Life: Adriaan van Dis in conversation with Mahat Arab

About Karakter by F. Bordewijk.

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Information

Date and time Saturday 24 January 2026 20:10 tot 20:30 uur
Location Filmhuis - Studio A
Price 15,- (up to 30 years or Ooievaarspas)
25,- (Early Bird, up to 26 December, thereafter 35,-)
32,50 (DenHaagPas).

Writers tell us about their favourite book: the book that inspires or touches them, that set their artistic, moral or intellectual compass. In short, the book they would recommend to everyone. Interview: Mahat Arab.

Adriaan van Dis chose Karakter, the famous 1938 novel by F. Bordewijk set in Rotterdam in the years after the First World War, as his favourite book. The main character is Jacob, the illegitimate son of bailiff Dreverhaven and his maid Jacoba Katadreuffe. Jacob grows up in poverty but develops into a successful lawyer. His father constantly works against him. The book has been adapted to film several times; Mike van Diem's 1997 version won an Oscar and a Gouden Kalf.

Line-up

Mahat Arab

(The Netherlands, 1996) is a spoken word artist, writer and organizer of books and poetry events. Many of his lyrics are about identity, awkwardness but also the humour we can encounter in discomfort. His work has appeared in De Revisor and Het Parool, and he has performed in De Nacht van De Poëzie, Brainwash Festival, Lowlands, Down The Rabbit Hole, Zwarte Cross and theatres throughout the Netherlands and Belgium, among others. Furthermore, Mahat is a literary programme maker at Poetry Circle, Mensen Zeggen Dingen and Brainwash Festival. He is also a team member of Club Lees, VPRO's online reading club. He played his self-written performance Een poëtisch rommeltje on several stages, including Oerol 2025.

Instagram: @mahat.ar
Instagram: @vproclublees
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Adriaan van Dis

(The Netherlands, 1946) grew up in a family with a past in the Dutch East Indies. He draws on these experiences in several of his works such as My Father's War (1995), Repatriated (2002) and in Naar zachtheid en een warm omhelzen (2023). Van Dis became well known via his literary television programme Here is... Adriaan van Dis (1983-1992). In addition to novels he has written novellas, travelogues, essays and plays. He presented TV documentary series and his podcast Van Dis Ongefilterd. He has received the Constantijn Huygens Award for his entire body of work. Recent publications are the collection Vijf vrolijke verhalen (2021), the novel KliFi, woede in de republiek Nederland (2022) and the essay De kolonie mept terug: over witte arrogantie en voortschrijdend inzicht: een denkoefening en leesreis (2024). During the Writers Unlimited Festival 2026, Van Dis will be the main interview guest on Saturday afternoon, 24 January, following the publication of his new book Alles voor de reis (Everything for the Journey), and on Sunday morning, 25 January, he and interviewer Simon Dikker Hupkes will record a new episode of his podcast series Van Dis Ongefilterd (Van Dis Unfiltered) live with an audience.

Go to website of Adriaan van Dis
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