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 Due to be published in English in June, "Summerhouse with
Swimming Pool" tells the story of a wealthy, successful and
embittered doctor who treats everybody who is anybody in
Amsterdam's cultural elite. It is written with the same savage
humor that made its predecessor such a success.
"The Dinner", already a film in Dutch, is in the early stages of
being made into a Hollywood movie directed by Australian actress
Cate Blanchett, who won the best actress Oscar on Sunday for her
role in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine".
Koch spoke to Reuters at the Hague Writers Unlimited Festival
about "The Dinner," his subsequent novels, and how he looks back
nostalgically at the risk-taking, smoking days of his youth.
Q: What was it about "The Dinner" that you think made it
so popular around the world?
A: Parents are always curious about what their children
are up to when they're not around. It's universal for parents to
ask themselves how drunk their daughter is when she's not with
them. We're also always curious about people's hidden lives: the
next-door neighbor with the cats might seem very nice. But maybe
he's a serial killer or something?
Q: Are you exploring themes that are specifically Dutch
or are they more universal?
A: These themes are particularly easy to explore in the
Netherlands, where most forms of discrimination are such a taboo
that people are reluctant to talk about them. I was playing with
the idea of a politically correct Social Democrat politician who
suddenly found that his principles are put to the test in his
private life — what does he do?
Q: What is it about writing novels that appeals to you?
A: The interesting thing about writing for me is that I
know I can very easily be persuaded to change my mind. In a
novel, you can hold every opinion on a subject simultaneously,
using different characters to advance opposing opinions. You can
weave all your own doubts into the storyline. If I'm writing a
character who opposes euthanasia — something I believe in — I
want to give that character all the credit in the world, so he
can't be ridiculed.
Q: What's your next novel to appear in English?
A: "Summerhouse with Swimming Pool", appearing in June, is
about an Amsterdam doctor who's bored sick after having treated his
patients for 30 years. One of his many famous patients, an actor,
suddenly dies. In the first chapter this doctor tells us that he
faces prosecution because of the medical error that killed his
patient.
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Q: Your books are very critical of Dutch society, addressing
people's fears about topics from tolerance to euthanasia and
healthcare.
A: In my next book, "Dear Mr M.", which is about to appear in
Dutch, I have a scene where two characters lament that the world
used to talk about how progressive the Dutch were when it came to
things like drugs, euthanasia and gay marriage.
Now, they complain the world only talks about Holland's right-wing
extremists. And of course this really bothers them, because it makes
them wonder if this tolerance was the only sellable thing the Dutch
had.
When we say we are tolerant, what we're really saying is that we are
superior to the person we're tolerating: starting from the border
with France and eastwards, we're saying it's all a jungle, and we
have a better-organized society.
It's like we've had to grow up as that image of the tolerant
Netherlands faded. We have finally realized that we might be just as
afraid of foreigners as everybody else.
Q: The world sees the Netherlands as this haven of tolerance
and liberalism — has it become more conservative?
A: Something has been lost. We grew up in the
1960s and 1970s, when smoking and heavy drinking were better
regarded than going for a jog. Now it's the other way round. Me too:
I quit smoking 15 years ago, and I've taken up running. This idea of
living a high-risk life, dying young — that's lost everywhere, not
just in Holland.
Occasionally, I see news of a riot, of a party advertised on
Facebook and going wrong when hordes of teenagers swamp the village,
and I think: "Finally, something fun is happening again!"
I'd never be such a good writer if I hadn't smoked. I needed that
experience of taking risks and not worrying about preserving my
health. But I certainly miss it. I occasionally discuss with my wife
taking up smoking again if we're ever diagnosed with a terminal
illness.
The characters in "Summerhouse in Swimming Pool" are smoking all the
time. It's a way of vicariously smoking while I write.
It's not just smoking. Once, all writers were alcoholics, and now
even Haruki Murakami goes out jogging. Something has been lost: my
dream is to be both an alcoholic and in good health.
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