Thinking of Bruce Kennedy

In Thinking of Bruce Kennedy, Koch describes the appeal of a glamorous existence, the certainties of an artistic elite, and the value of an ordinary life.

In Thinking of Bruce Kennedy Mirjam Wenger spends a week alone in southern Spain. Her life with director Bernhard and their two children is wearing her down and she has had enough of the Amsterdam artists’ scene. In her hotel she meets Bruce Kennedy, an older but still world-famous American film star. Despite his age and drinking problem, Mirjam feels irresistibly attracted to him. Does she try to seduce him to have a great story to tell her friends back home, or is she looking for an escape from Dutch mediocrity?

‘Thinking of Bruce Kennedy shows us Koch at his best.’ Vrij Nederland

‘Koch has outdone himself. His heroine is beautiful, tragic and believable.’ De Groene Amsterdammer

‘Koch has put it all ingeniously together. His humour is as restrained as his style. A powerful novel, without cannonballs whizzing past your ears. And yet the ending will keep ringing in your head long after you have finished reading it.’ Het Parool

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‘Herman Koch shows brilliantly how you can see things that might not be there at all, how your imagination can run away with you. The Ditch is an ode to the imagination.’ **** Het Parool

‘The writing is crystal clear and unpretentious, typically Koch!’ **** NRC HANDELSBLAD

‘A novel that has become a moral question around the world.’ La Repubblica (Italy)

‘Koch tells a suspenseful story, with intriguing characters and a pleasant theme.’ FLAIR

‘An ingeniously plotted story. Odessa Star reads like a thriller.’ TROUW

‘War at Last is a subtle parody of all post-war war literature.’ de Volkskrant

‘The story unfolds from one powerful scene to the next, from one penetrating image to another.’ Vrij Nederland

‘This book delivers a wonderful mix of emotion and humour. From merciless to merciful and back again.’ De Morgen

‘The reader soon starts to hope for the know-it-all’s downfall, but Koch takes his time to satisfy that desire.’ de Volkskrant

'In an extremely penetrating manner, Herman Koch describes the fortunes and misfortunes of the fossilised teaching staff with its false cheerfulness and hypocritical belief in the ‘Montanelli Method'.' De Ster

Even more than a book about memories, this is a book about lost memories and that is the thing that makes this one so special. Trouw

Een geslaagde roman over de complexe menselijke natuur. Margriet