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The national Heel Nederland Leest reading campaign is featuring Herman Koch’s 2009 novel The Dinner. Libraries are distributing a special edition of the book free to members and visitors.
In Drenthe, the regional Heel Drenthe Leest programme runs in November, with activities and free copies available from libraries while supplies last.
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Forty Dutch public figures are set to read Herman Koch's novel The Dinner aloud in a VPRO National Reading Marathon on Sunday, 8 November. The programme is planned to complete the book within nine hours. Participants include Özcan Akyol, Daphne Bunskoek, Donnie, Anna Nooshin, Catherine Key, Dolly Bellefleur, Joes Brauers, Noraly Beyer and Koch himself.
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Writer Herman Koch, 73, announced on the television programme Eva that he has Parkinson’s disease. He has also been receiving treatment for metastatic prostate cancer since 2020. Koch said he had experienced balance problems for several years and initially thought they were side effects of medication for his cancer. After his symptoms worsened, a neurologist diagnosed Parkinson’s disease. He said medication had improved his mood, balance problems and restless dreams, and that he continues to write.