Oek de Jong

Oek de Jong (1952) broke through in 1979 with his debut novel Opwaaiende zomerjurken (Billowing Summer Dresses). Over fifteen months, the novel was reprinted nineteen times and sold 95,000 copies. He confirmed his status as one of the Netherlands’ top authors with the philosophical and equally successful novel Cirkel in het gras (Circle in the Grass, 1985) and Hokwerda’s kind (Hokwerda’s Child, 2002), a tragic portrait of a woman. Pier and Ocean (2013) was shortlisted for the Libris Literature Prize and won both the Gouden Boekenuil (‘Golden Book Owl’) and the F. Bordewijk Prize. Zwarte schuur was awarded with the Boekenbon Literatuurprijs 2020.

Opwaaiende zomerjurken

(Augustus, 1979, 271 pagina's)

In the first part of Billowing Summer Frocks we are introduced to eight-year-old Edo Mesch during a languid summer in rural Zeeland. He clings to his mother, but he also torments her. His squint keeps him indoors and away from his friends. Angry and proud, he spends his days sailing the imaginary seas with the aid of a rake.

Cirkel in het gras

(J.M. Meulenhoff, 1985, 432 pagina's)

Oek de Jong’s prime preoccupation, the desire for a harmonious life – whether or not through art – is repeated in this novel set in Italy in the late seventies, gripped by the horror of the kidnap and murder of the politician Aldo Moro. One of its ideas is that whoever strives for a Buddhist approach to life must recognize that good and evil are two sides of the same coin: the Red Brigade on the one side and their capitalist victim on the other.

Een man die in de toekomst springt

(Augustus, 1997, 222 pagina's)

In de reisverhalen en essays van Een man die in de toekomst springt zoekt Oek de Jong de confrontatie met beelden en ideeën van het verleden - om zijn positie in het heden te bepalen.

Hokwerda's kind

(Augustus, 2002, 444 pagina's)

In the late 1970s, Oek de Jong’s debut, Opwaaiende zomerjurken (Billowing Summer Dresses), became a genuine cult book for a whole generation of students. It was followed by the beautiful ‘Roman’ novel Cirkel in het gras (Circle in the Grass), after which silence reigned. The announced publication of De Jong’s third novel, Hokwerda’s kind, mesmerised the literary world. And rightly so: he has issued a brilliant psychological novel that, at one stroke, has placed him among the foremost Dutch authors.

Pier en oceaan

(Augustus, 2013, 804 pagina's)

In Pier en oceaan vertelt Oek de Jong het verhaal van Dina Houttuyn en haar zoon Abel Roorda. Hij laat zien dat een mens al voor zijn ontstaan een geschiedenis heeft en sterk wordt beïnvloed door het leven van ouders en voorouders.

Zwarte schuur

(Atlas Contact, 2019, 489 pagina's)

In a grand, sweeping novel, Oek de Jong shows how artist Maris Coppoolse is tortured by his past and the huge impact this has, not only on his work, but also on the lives of his loved ones.

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