IJdel onkruid

by Youp van 't Hek

Columns

199 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Youp van 't Hek is a Dutch comedian and a columnist for NRC Handelsblad. He was born and raised in the Gooi, a upper class region to the southeast of Amsterdam. His youth there served as an inspiration for his ironic attitude toward the rich, the successful and all those who are pretending to be either. After being kicked out of several high schools, he finally completed the one where he also led the school theater, and moved to Amsterdam. There he was one of the founding members of Cabaret NAR (Cabaret Jester). Throughout all the changes in Cabaret NAR, Youp was the only constant factor in it and because of him focusing more and more on their shows, he gradually became Cabaret NAR. In the beginning he (or Cabaret NAR) was not very successful, often not even successful enough to pay for their own shows. During all this he worked in some of those boring, mind-numbing, riskless, black-and-white, have-to-wear-a-suit, 9-to-5 kind of office jobs, which later inspired many of his jokes and imitations.

In the early 1980s Cabaret NAR success declined and Youp moved on as a solo artist. From then on he has had great popularity. Though his shows and statements may be considered controversial, he has developed himself, not only as a comedian, but also as an idealist. His humor is always mixed with a sense of irony towards modern life, culture, and national and international politics. Other themes often found in his shows and humor are death, hypocrisy, the innocence of children, the sincerity of the elderly, the gap between what society expects from you and what you, deep in your heart, want the most, and the question: "When would you call someone crazy and when would you call him/her normal or healthy?".

His big break came in 1983 on KRO's "De alles is anders-show". His energetic performance made him a household name overnight.

He is known as "the Buckler of Dutch comedians" because he ridiculed Buckler, a low-alcohol beer brewed by Heineken in his 1989 end-of-year show so effectively, sales plummeted and the brand was eventually withdrawn from the market.[1] Youp has often cited this as the best joke in his career and has subsequently referred to it in all his retrospective shows.

Reviews

[Thomas Pruijsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ik kreeg dit boek gratis bij het abonnement op de NRC en wist dat ik het zeker niet altijd eens ben met deze witte babyboomer. Maar het was eens goed om uit mijn politiek correcte bubbel te stappen en dit boekje met vermakelijke columns te lezen. Ook mooi om het nieuws van 1,5-2 jaar terug weer is tot mij te nemen. Wel redelijk veel herhaling over onderwerpen die terugkwamen (Ajax, formatie), maar ook wel weer leuk hoe nieuws soms opnieuw actueel is nu (vd Staaij, studentenverenigingen). Sommige columns, bv over gender en over psychische problematiek vond ik erg beledigend en stuitend. Maar daar overheen gelezen hebbende was het nog best een vermakelijk boek.

[Nico Van Straalen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ik ben geen fan van Youp. Dat wil niet zeggen dat hij niet goed is, als columnist. Hij zit boven op de actualiteit, kan lekker jennen en heeft humor. Toch is er één aanmerking te maken. Joep behandelt de zaken niet diepgaand. Hij heeft weinig woorden nodig. Een politicus wordt door hem in twee woorden getypeerd. Maar een column is 800 woorden. Daarom behandelt hij meestal meer dan één onderwerp en springt van de hak op de tak. Is het erg? Nou ja, ik ben er geen fan van. Maar dat wil niet zeggen dat Youp geen goede columnist is.

[Evert Rutgers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good columns. Not really my genre. Author has experience and tries to weave current affairs with opinion and remaining light/comedic.