Volledige werken ; 3: Romans: De donkere kamer van Damokles, Nooit meer slapen

Volledige Werken

by Willem Frederik Hermans

In De donkere kamer van Damokles is Henri Osewoudt op zoek naar zijn al dan niet door hem gefantaseerde evenbeeld Dorbeck, die bij verzetswerk betrokken lijkt. Het is een zoektocht die even spannend als tot mislukken gedoemd is.

Nooit meer slapen: ook hier stuurt Hermans zijn hoofdpersoon op een onmogelijke zoektocht. Een geologische expeditie voert Alfred Issendorf naar Lapland, waar hij op gezag van zijn promotor resten van meteorieten moet zoeken.

829 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

Willem Frederik Hermans is one of the greatest post-war Dutch authors. Before devoting his entire life to writing, Hermans had been teaching Physical Geography at the University of Groningen for many years. He had already started writing and publishing in magazines at a young age. His polemic and provocative style led to a court case as early as 1952. His caustic pieces were compiled in Mandarijnen op zwavelzuur (Mandarines in Sulphuric Acid, 1963), which was reprinted with additions a number of times. It is Hermans’s belief that in order to survive people have to create their own reality. It is inevitable that all these experiences of reality will collide. Language is essential to create order out of chaos and plays an important role in this process. In his essays on Wittgenstein, Hermans studied this problem in depth. In his novels and stories Hermans places his characters in a world of certainty for themselves but equivocal for the reader. It is in this field of tension that the intrigue in De tranen der acacia’s (Acacia’s Tears, 1949) and in De donkere kamer van Damocles (The Darkroom of Damocles, 1958) develops. Although stories such as Moedwil en misverstand (Malice and Misunderstanding) and Paranoia have a surrealistic tendency, Hermans’ novels The Darkroom Of Damocles, Nooit meer slapen (Beyond Sleep), Uit talloos veel miljoenen (From Countless Millions) are more realistic or satirical and everything in his rich oeuvre is subordinate to the author’s pessimistic philosophy.