Het Verlangen Page #3

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of the Netherlands.

Brigitte had heard a lot about

the dress style of Matthijs.

Everything always one size too small.

She wondered if that was true

for everything.

To the table.

Her first novel was recently published.

It's been called a masterpiece.

It deals with major themes:

death, sex, love, existential issues.

And all that in a debut.

With me is Brigitte Hooijmakers,

the writer of "The Longing". Welcome.

I'll show the viewers

how thick this book is.

This may be impossible,

but can you sum it up in three sentences?

The title says it all.

It's about longing.

For love in the first place,

but also for so much more.

I've read it and what I find so good

is that you're able...

...to describe bedrooms and living rooms

of various milieus with precision.

How do you do that?

Well, it's like...

For instance, when you look

at someone's shoes...

...you already know

what kind of person it is. Right?

I understand. But that voyeurism

reminded me immediately...

Maybe you too, Jan.

...of Nabokov. Of course.

This is Nabokov's echo.

Lolita complex. Humbert Humbert,

but then a woman.

Yeah, in a certain sense.

Matthijs, I received this book yesterday

at 2 pm and I couldn't put it down.

This is phenomenally well-written.

My compliments.

It's terrific for a first novel.

Where have you been all this time?

What do you think is

the most important passage, Jan?

The masturbation scene.

The climax.

We're getting more copies this afternoon.

The novel hit like a bombshell.

Whether you planned to read it or not...

...everyone wanted "The Longing"

on their bedside table.

For the first time in their lives,

Brigitte and Herman were seen.

Brigitte in the most literal way.

Every glossy put heron the cover.

And for Herman it seemed

to turn out all right too.

The book he'd worked on for so long

was being read.

He was being read.

He existed.

I raise my glass to a wonderful book

and a lovely writer.

An unbeatable combination.

To "The Longing".

- Cheers.

Before I show you some great numbers...

...about reprints and royalties

you'll be receiving soon...

...I'll first read what Aaron Golsteijn

wrote about the novel.

Aaron Golsteijn?

- Yes, he's a writer.

He wins a lot of awards.

He sells a lot of books.

Here:
"A rare impressive debut.

Enviably well-written.

A book you can't put down.

A terrible moment:

You've finished The Longing."

What about those numbers?

Herman was brilliant.

And, like all writers, fond of money.

Brigitte was pretty and born to be

in the bright spotlights of the media.

A perfect combination,

based on huge contrasts.

Marc thought about

his failed relationship.

He and his ex liked the same things.

Read the same things, ate the same food,

shared the same opinions.

And yet it went wrong.

Are you still in touch?

- I wouldn't know what about.

Besides, she has someone else.

It'll be fine, mom.

How are your sugar levels?

- If I inject myself on time, just fine.

Dad's blood pressure had increased

considerably last time.

What's Brigitte like in person?

- She's a sweetheart.

A sweetheart?

- Does that sound weird?

A bit. For someone

who wrote a masterpiece.

Because she's a woman?

Hella Haasse was a sweetheart too.

And beautiful, in her day.

That's true.

"The sex was good.

More than good.

They preferred to do it quickly,

unsafe and loudly...

...in the toilet stall of a museum,

cinema or restaurant.

But in love?

No.

A superfluous impediment to the lust.

Leonie didn't want it.

Being in love wasn't an option.

Period."

Here you go,

- Thanks.

It's for my wife.

Could you dedicate it to:

For my eternal chaperone, Lies.

It's something from the old days.

She'll understand.

For my eternal...

Chaperone, you said?

- Yes.

Right.

Want to have that spelled

the French or the German way?

German?

Is it a German word as well?

- Sure. Didn't you know that?

Make it the French way.

The usual spelling?

Or how they spell it at the coast

at Montpellier and so on?

I know a nice campground there,

by the way.

No, just C-H-A-P-E-R-O-N-E.

Oh, right. Exactly.

Two thousand euros.

- What?

For one evening's reading.

- Gosh.

Not just for me, by the way.

Just so don't get any ideas.

Oh, those publishers get something too.

- Yes, something like that.

What you were reading about Leontien...

- Leonie.

That she closed herself off from love...

...that's actually autobiographical.

Right?

I just never meet anyone.

That wasn't exactly true.

The number of men

interested in Brigitte...

...had risen to a record level

since her success.

But it used to be

only about her appearance.

Nowadays, it was about her appearance

and her success.

Some wanted to discuss literature

with her.

Aaron Golsteijn makes it clear with Myra

that, even when she was a little girl...

...suffers from an intrinsic drive

that only becomes ostentatious later.

Other men were only interested

in her fame.

I saw Jort near here yesterday.

Imagine he'd run into Bram.

And sometimes it was just

the same old same old.

I think you're so incredibly,

so incredibly hot.

I seriously mean that,

from the bottom of this heart over here.

Oh, hey. Hey, hey, hey.

Man.

When she was honest to herself,

she felt more stupid than ever.

Even though she'd rehearsed

a good story about it...

...and read from it four evenings

a week...

...she still hadn't finished

reading "The Longing".

Especially because she didn't understand

most of what she read.

She decided she couldn't go on like this.

Language and Language Skills

Dutch

There you go.

- Bye.

Why don't they play some nice music

in a place like that?

Fifty thousand copies already, mom.

Fifty thousand.

Publishers of the Year

And is Marc enjoying it as well?

If you know what I mean.

I think he had one date,

but that's all he mentioned.

She probably said: 'duck tape'

instead of 'duct tape'.

While this successful publisher

can get any date he wants these days.

And your stomach?

- It's fine.

Doesn't hurt at all.

"Self-tormenting I see you bold as brass,

young as when I let happiness pass...

...that one night when I didn't kiss you."

Dead poets are dead.

Only 200 people still read that

and they get fewer by the year.

Show some respect, young man.

Some things never pass.

Is she working on something new?

The second book is always the hardest.

She's at it.

Did you hear they had to get her

a bodyguard?

It's necessary, dad.

She's being harassed.

And he drives her everywhere.

- It's a kick boxer.

A hot kick boxer.

The English ones are great,

so are the Americans.

They're magnificent.

What?

- The American Pit Bull.

It isn't your ordinary breed.

Sorry, Andr, I'm reading.

- Yeah, sure.

"She had to admit

that she enjoyed the battle.

The more she had Benjamin

in her power...

...the more aroused she was.

In the end, she decided

to erase him...

...like the line of a pencil."

Thank you, Mrs. Hooijmakers.

That was wonderful.

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