Eating with Emma

Koch wrote this bittersweet novel about the desire for fame and denying ambitions.

The protagonist of Eating with Emma learns that he has been portrayed as a recognisable character in a now famous book. An ex-girlfriend has somehow managed to become a bestselling author, a career that he had actually mapped out for himself. Where did it all go wrong? And did everything described in the offending novel really happen?

‘A novel both hilarious and poignant that turns everything on its head so often that you end up not knowing which is which: fiction or reality.’ GPD

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

‘A humorous book about the desire for literary fame.’ Dagblad van het Noorden

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The Herman Koch collection.

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‘The Ditch is another Great Watergraafsmeerian Novel.’ *** NRC Handelsblad

‘It is not just a page-turner, there are also plenty of belly laughs to be had.’ – **** HET PAROOL

‘A groundbreaking book, clever and important. It is an ext remely funny, ‘shake awake’ book, that we probably need more than we’d like to know. I hope that there will be more translations of Herman Koch’s books. It will be a pleasure.’ Nordjyske (Denmark)

‘The witty new novel by Herman Koch' MAMA

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

‘Koch's novel is notable not only for its original story but also its style. Every sentence is precise and considered. The writer’s humour is different than usual: he chooses the path of whining, moaning and nagging.’ Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant

‘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

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

‘We think Koch is a great writer. A fantastic anthropologist. He knows our quirks and our weaknesses, our desires and our fears, our poses and our hypocrisy. He has an eagle eye for the small, all-revealing gesture. He has the gift of plain language and, perhaps more importantly, the talent to capture the madhouse he believes the world to be and the pointlessness that he sees all around him in prose that almost always surprises and, yes, very often makes you laugh. That is pretty unique.’ De Standaard

‘Should Tom Sanders disregard that advice? Or should he tackle his son about his behaviour? That is the central dilemma in Easy Living, and Koch gets a devilish kick out of making Tom Sanders vacillate between these two options, and gets an even greater kick out of pushing him into a corner.’ Parool

'One of the most moving school novels in Dutch literature.' Vrij Nederland

Koch commands his metier with an effortless superiority. De Volkskrant

Een spannende roman over de liefde voor een jonge actrice, de verdorven filmwereld en de kunst van het thuisblijven. VPRO