The Lake of Remembrance

‘One serious drawback is the impossibility of becoming somebody else.’ That quotation is the most succinct summary of the theme Rudy Kousbroek broaches in 'Het meer der herinnering'. It is the basic melody, the basso continuo that links his contributions, namely melancholy wrapped in humour and analytical thought. The twenty-four essays in this book deal mainly with variations on the theme that there are limitations to human existence which can only be crossed in the imagination.