Dimitri Verhulst
To Have and To Be (Hebben en zijn)
BELGIUM
BOOK
“Life is the most common cause of death.” In this remarkable novel, the author wittily and eloquently illuminates our finitude. The book begins with Malodoto’s death. After a fatal car accident, he finds himself, to his surprise, in a clinic where he must first shed his dependence on life in order to be totally dead. If he fails to do so, he must go through his entire existence all over again, from beginning to end, with precisely the same course. With a diverse group of fellow patients, he undergoes group therapy and individual interviews with a mysterious head therapist who tries to make him abandon his ugly addiction to life.
Published by Odeon, 2024
AUTHOR
© Michiel Hendryckx
Dimitri Verhulst (* 1972) is a Flemish writer and poet. He is considered one of the best authors of his generation. He was introduced to the Czech language with Goddamn Days on a Goddamn Globe (Godverdomse dagen op een godverdomse bol) (2011). His 2006 novel The Misfortunates (De helaasheid der dingen), which sold 200,000 copies in the Netherlands, was made into a film of the same name. Another book published in Czech, The Latecomer (De laatkomer) (2017), is about a man who pretends to have Alzheimer’s disease to finally have peace from his wife. The author has been sued twice for his works’ topics and newspaper statements.
TRANSLATION
Veronika ter Harmsel Havlíková
