M. Duintjer

Badmeester, ben ik al bruin? is a special-(low)-priced paperback anthology of Dutch short stories about the holidays, as the cover suggests "sun, beach and seaside". The cover mentions the names of some bestselling authors whose works are included, such as Arthur Japin, Vonne van der Meer and Tommy Wieringa. There are 20 short stories altogether.

The short stories very well reflect how many Dutch people celebrate their holidays: with sex and beer on the beach. Some of these stories are really show more just pulp fiction. There are some surprises: Writing about China, Carolien Visser is much more a travel writer, and her contribution does not fit so well together with the other stories. I had never heard of eight out of 20 authors (40%), while I was quite surprised to find a short story written by Johnny van Doorn. Arthur Japin and Tommy Wieringa are great names, but their short stories are of little interest. Still, with such a wide selection there should be something for everyone, and I was glad to read another story by Vonne van der Meer, Helga Ruebsamen and Adriaan van Dis. None of the 8 authors new to me impressed me.

The cover picture is an absolute horror, and should actually have warned me off. (Actually, the book came free from a mini library.) show less