Post Mortem

Emiel Steegman, an unknown writer with a handful of novels to his name, is seeking a way to escape a dinner with Estonian colleagues. Although things are plodding along quite happily, he cancels at the last moment "due to a rather difficult time for the family".

A nasty feeling immediately comes over him: is he inviting trouble for his family in doing so? And what if a biographer stumbled on this? Would he not then suspect that something significant had happened in his life? The thought gives him a great idea for a new novel about a successful author, T, who becomes famous with an existential crime novel and increasingly worries about what his future biographer will write about him, so he withdraws entirely from public life.

But Steegman's initial misgivings prove well founded. Because fate does strike. One afternoon, his daughter Renee falls asleep and it is impossible to wake her . . .

“An ingenious, rich book, beautifully put together”

- Dagblad van het Noorden

Post Mortem is not only the blood-curdling account of a father in agony but also a novel about a writer. A peerlessly impressive novel. A True hall of mirrors - VPRO Gids

Peter Terrin represents a unique voice in contemporary literature, touching on universal and highly topical themes. He is considered by critics to be a literary maverick, a classic writer and a masterful stylist. He is also an avid collector of vintage typewriters. He won a European Literature Prize for The Guard, and the AKO Literatuurprijs for Post Mortem.

Emiel Steegman, an unknown writer with a handful of novels to his name, is seeking a way to escape a dinner with Estonian colleagues. Although things are plodding along quite happily, he cancels at the last moment "due to a rather difficult time for the family".A nasty feeling immediately comes over him: is he inviting trouble for his family in doing so? And what if a biographer stumbled on this? Would he not then suspect that something significant had happened in his life? The thought gives him a great idea for a new novel about a successful author, T, who becomes famous with an existential crime novel and increasingly worries about what his future biographer will write about him, so he withdraws entirely from public life.But Steegman's initial misgivings prove well founded. Because fate does strike. One afternoon, his daughter Renee falls asleep and it is impossible to wake her . . .

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