Mooi boek, dubbel gevoel! ( )

De kleine blonde dood is a touching novel about fatherhood. The author, Boudewijn Büch appears as a character in the novel, which seems autobiographical, although reality and the plot are divergent.

The plot consists of two story lines. The first relates of the relationship between Boudewijn and his father, Rainer Büch. The father is portrayed in an extreme and exaggerated fashion, schizophrenic and quite positively mad. In the father's mind, World War II never ended, and the Germans are the eternal enemy. Nonetheless, father and son enjoy a special, truly loving relationship. Despite all and everything, Rainer seems to be a good father to Boudewijn.

In the second story line, Boudewijn is shown to be a good father to his son, Micky. His life-style seems compatible with good fathership. Unfortunately, Micky dies during a weekend Boudewijn is not there, and the child stays with his alcoholic ex-wife. This casts a shadow, and the question arises whether Boudewijn neglected or is to blame for the boy's death. ( )

Het boek gaat over Boudewijn die dus vertelt over zijn leven: over zijn band met zijn vader en de dood van zijn zoon.

Aardig om op je boekenlijst te hebben in de derde, maar zeker niet zo goed als een aantal mensen vindt. ( )