Delusions, Erik Rozing, Meulenhoff, 256 pages, 22.99 euros.
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In Delusions, psychiatrist and writer Erik Rozing brings people together in strange situations that are bitter yet witty.
In a few striking sentences he creates wonderful characters, such as the rain-soaked happiness scientist Van Keulen, who rings the main character’s doorbell. ‘There was a viscous sadness about him, a chronic resentment that he dragged with him like a broken umbrella.’
Or take the two friends who go on a competitive retreat (isn’t that an oxymoron?). Just playing a game is something some people don’t want to do. “The problem is that you can’t handle losing.” To which the other retorts: ‘But if you hardly ever lose, you don’t have to be very good at losing.’
Rozing previously wrote, among other things, The Psychiatrist and the Girl, in which he drew on his experiences as a psychiatrist, and State of Denial, about the current climate crisis. Delusions contains twelve short stories, sometimes set in the present, sometimes in a near, grim future. Rozing preludes to possible developments – wars, food shortages, housing shortage. There is not always a good outcome. For example, there is the innovative AI company, where people sign up who consider their lives complete. After their death (or: ‘jump’) they always remain alive, the apps and emails continue to flow in to those left behind… you can imagine that something like this would just be invented. And all the while, Rozing keeps the tone light. A bit Maarten Biesheuvel-esque. Recommended.
Erik Rozing is a guest this week in Medisch Contact’s podcast episode 99.
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