Suzanne Vermeer (1962–2011)

Suzanne Vermeer – De eilanden

Ooit wilde ik begrijpen waarom deze boeken zo goed verkocht werden. Ik heb het eerlijk geprobeerd. Mijn blogje is nog altijd een van mijn best gelezen blogjes. Nadien overleed de heer Goeken, maar bleef het fenomeen Vermeer bestaan. Nog maar eens een bewijs voor het cynisme van de uitgever, het maakt niet uit wie het schrijft, het maakt niet uit wat er staat, als de voorkant maar vergelijkbaar uitziet als de vorige en op stapels op Schiphol kan liggen, dan show more verkoopt het toch wel.

Jaar in, jaar uit, meerdere boeken per jaar. Niemand weet wie ze schrijft, volgens mij maakt dat ook niet uit. Dit dunne boekje stond op een dag in mijn minibieb. Vele jaren heb ik ze genegeerd, dus dacht ik dat ik maar eens weer moet proberen. Zeven korte verhalen, zeven eilanden, zeven vrouwen, zeven geheimen. Tussen twee blogjes door opgepakt. Tijdens een wandeletappe in de Tour nog eens wat. En wachtend op het eten de rest. Zeven keer vol goede moed, zeven keer verbaasd dat dit op papier staat.

Als complete amateur weet ik dat ik geen natuurtalent ben. Ik verkoop wel eens wat boeken, heb plezier aan schrijven. Maar ik zou me schamen als ik dit had geproduceerd. Zonder enige twijfel tik ik een vergelijkbaar boekje in een week na mijn werk. Even zitten. Setting bepalen. Twee of drie namen. Beginnen met schrijven, op de laatste/een na laatste bladzijde van het verhaal een niet-verwachte draai en klaar is kees. Wat een gemak, wat simpel, ongelooflijk dat dit soort boeken zo veel verkoopt.

Het zegt veel over de gemiddelde lezer (vooral lezeres) dat we deze uitgever belonen voor dit soort bagger.

Citaat: “Toen de politie net ineens voor haar neus stond, wist ze het zeker: nu was het afgelopen. Ze had het mis gehad en het had onverwachts goed voor haar uitgepakt. Daarom was nu het moment om een einde te maken aan haar passieve houding. Ze zou haar leven niet nog meer laten verknallen.” (p.73) show less

The Kolwijn family--father Hans, mother Petra, and son Niels--decide to take a different kind of vacation from their usual. Instead of a resort hotel, they decide to go to a large campground in Italy that has a wide range of activities, as well as accommodations ranging from tents to bungalows. They hsettle on a mobile home, and head off to enjoy themselves.

It's a fateful choice, and as fretful as the somewhat over-protective Hans is over letting the ten-year-old Niels roam the campgrounds show more taking part in activities with his new friends, Thijs and Mats, his worst fears don't encompass what will happen.

Thijs's family is staying in the mobile home across from the Kolwijns' and when on the boys' third night attending the evening events together, Niels doesn't return with Thijs, they are naturally alarmed. All four of the parents set out to search, and it's Hans who finds his terrified son and his friend Mats--who is dead.

The major part of the book takes us through Niels' trauma, the strain on Hans and Petra as they struggle to do the right things for him, and the police search for the killer--hampered by the fact that Niels will not say anything at all about that night. When another young boy is killed in nearly identical circumstances, the pressures on everyone explode, and the Kolwijns have to return to Italy.

The Kolwijns are real and complicated, loving, mutually supportive, trying to protect each other so much they are not able to gain strength from each other. They can't see everything that's happening with their son, but they do listen when others tell them what they see. This family in crisis is described beautifully, in spare and convincing language.

It's a compelling and ultimately satisfying story.

Recommended.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. show less

This book was a present by the publisher, at Manuscripta 2010. I was quite curious, because I had never read anything by this author before.
The book was a quick and easy read (one evening and two mornings during breakfast) and it did exactly what I expected: it gave me a nice story that I could easily follow, without any serious brain activity. I do not like that for all my books, but for an 'in between read' during busy times it is just perfect.
The story itself is nice, it has an unexpected show more twist or two that makes the story better. What I also liked was, that there was a '10 years later' part. Usually the book stops when the story ends, when the mystery is solved. I often wonder (when the main characters get me) what would have happended to them 'afterwards', when the dust has settled. Despite it ended like I had expected/ hoped for them (silly, because they're only imaginary figures), it was still nice to read.
I'm not sure if I'll read one of her oher books very soon. Not because I did not like this one, but more because I hope to have enough energy to read books that challenge me more. show less

Helen (and I use the anglicized version of her name) and Frank take a luxury cruise to celebrate their anniversary. Things go quite well until Frank disappears on the cruise ship one night. After a great deal of searching, the ship officers (and the readers) are left to conclude that he must surely have died by jumping or falling off the ship, as Frank does not re-appear there is no body found, and no one could possibly have gotten off the ship. Once Frank has disappeared/died, the real show more story begins as Helen delves into her husband’s past to try to find him or answers to what really happened. This story involves many and varied twists and turns as Helen discovers strange and disjointed facts about her husband and his past. The story takes us through many countries and areas, which the author has developed quite well. Actually, the cruise, though the title, is not central to this story, but is just one more piece of the puzzle to put together to figure out what really happened. In addition to great descriptions of the setting, the author develops the main and secondary characters quite well. In the past, I have often found translated stories difficult to follow at times and filled with or lacking subtle nuances a native speaker has come to expect. Not so with this book, as it read and flowed quite easily. I particularly enjoyed the vivid descriptions of settings and the energized, and often sensitive, dialogue and explanations, which only served to provide me with a solid understanding of the plot and storyline. I haven’t read any other of Ms. Vermeer’s books, but, after reading this one, I will be looking for more from and by her. This is a fantastic summer read for anyone who enjoys a great tale of a modern romance/marriage and its ups and downs and potential fallouts. I highly recommend it to any and all readers, since I seriously doubt you will be disappointed. I received this from NetGalley to read and review. show less