Afgunst by saskia Noort

 

Afgunst (Dutch for jealousy) is a short novel by Dutch author Saskia Noort. She is quite well-known in Holland for her literary thrillers (think Nicci French), but this is the first book I’ve ever read by her. Her books have been translatedinto other languages as well. I had planned read this book this weekend during Dewey’s read-a-thon, but since I won’t be able to participate due to a wedding on Sunday, I took the book to read in bed last night. I didn’t feel to well, so when I came home I made tea and went to bed to read. Finished the book in little over an hour or so as it is under 100 pages. To be honest, I didn’t particularly care much for Afgunst and I am not tempted to read any of Noort’s other books.

Neither of the two main characters Susan and Ernst are very likable. Susan is a successful Dutch writer, married with two small children with a lover on the side who is a successful TV-presenter, who is busy doing book-tours around the country. Ernst is her ex-boyfriend with whom she broke up fifteen years ago. Their relationship was one in which he was completely dominating her and she was adapting to his every wishes: he disapproved of lipstick, so she wouldn’t wear it; he thought her long blond hair made her look like a prostitute, so she had it cut; high heels made her longer than he was, which he disliked, so she stopped wearing high heels. They were both aspiring writers, but Ernst kept telling her she doesn’t have much talent, needs to grow as a person. He was the one who was going to be successful, not she.

Obviously things worked out differently in life, and she was the one who became successful. This caused an immense jealousy to grow inside Ernst over the years and he wanted to take revenge. One evening, after Susan gave a lecture at a library in some village, he kidnaps her and hides her in some barn. The story takes place during this one night when Ernst holds Susan captive.

Apart from the first and the last chapter, the story is told alternating between Ernst and Susan. The past and their different views on it come to live through their thoughts. Especially in Ernst’s case you are really inside his mind and reading his thoughts, whereas the parts written through Susan’s eyes tend to be more descriptive. The events of that one night unfold in the parts told from Susan’s perspective, while Ernst’s thoughts are more of a commentary to that night and their common past.

Though I didn’t care much for Susan, the twist in the very last chapter made me feel a bit sorry for her and made me hope she would at least dump her lover as he turns out to be quite the selfish a**hole. After finishing the book, I was actually left with only one question: why her lover did what he did, because I cannot for the life of me find a reasonable motive for him to be so incredibly selfish and inhuman.