Starring in the ninth episode of Kopje Koffie, the German book podcast about Dutch literature: Flemish writer Lize Spit talks to Katharina Borchardt and Bettina Baltschev about her book Ik ben er niet (I’m not there), published by Das Mag in 2020. In July of 2022, the book was published in German by S. Fischer, under the title Ich bin nicht da, translated by Helga van Beuningen.
Ik ben er niet tells the story of Leo and Simon, a couple who have been living together for ten years and master the ups and downs of life in symbiotic togetherness. When Simon comes home one night completely overwhelmed, fixated on a new career idea that he is obsessively working on and eventually quits his well-paid job at a well-known graphics agency, Leo is faced with new challenges in this relationship. From her perspective it is described how Simon changes more and more, becomes paranoid and develops delusions. When terrible things finally happen and it is no longer possible to keep the mental illness of her great love secret from the outside world, Leo has to act.
In the conversation, Lize Spit talks about her personal motivations for writing Ik ben er niet, her writing process and her relationship with cappuccino.
Ik ben er niet is translated into Danish and German. Italian and French translations are in preparation. More information can be found in the Translation database.
Listen to this episode of Kopje Koffie via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music and Deezer, or via the website of the Dutch Foundation for Literature.
Kopje Koffie (Cup of Coffee) podcast
The Dutch Embassy in Berlin and the Dutch Foundation for Literature, in cooperation with Flanders Literature and the General Representation of the Government of Flanders, produce the Kopje Koffie (‘Cup of Coffee’) podcast, aimed at German readers and listeners. Dutch writers with a new translation in German are invited to talk about their work. The podcast is a journey through the current Dutch-language literary scene and is the ideal introduction to 2024, when the Leipzig Book Fair presents the Netherlands and Flanders as guest countries.
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