Schijnoffers by Daan Heerma van Voss: unbalanced, but with a wonderful ending

After the autobiographical novels The Frightened Man and No Goodbye Today, writer Daan Heerma van Voss comes out with a new novel set in the unfathomable world of chess grandmasters. For the reader, will it be draw or checkmate?

Since his debut more than 15 years ago, now 39-year-old Amsterdam-based Daan Heerma van Voss has written a comprehensive body of work. Novels, essays, interviews, stories, journalistic articles and thrillers - he practises almost all genres. Daan Heerma van Voss is a prolific writer who is not afraid to try new things.

He does the same with his new book Schijnoffers, a family novel that takes the reader into the rather hidden world of chess via two storylines. The first storyline concerns the life and memories of Surinamese woman Ella Leeuwin, who meets chess grandmaster Max de Nobel as a 22-year-old aspiring journalist. What begins as a half-hearted attempt at a reportage culminates in a relationship. For this, she gives up the dream of her own career. After a life of luxury, their union ends in divorce.

Russians

In the second line, their son David, who did become a journalist, uncovers an intrigue as a result of a mysterious gift: top Russian chess players as well as the Dutch government have been involved in espionage activities. It seems that David's father Max, with whom he has had no contact for years, was also involved. Whereas his mother chose to throw her report into the fire because of her relationship with Max, David wants to try and find out what happened. And that leads him right to his father.

Schijnoffers shows enthusiasm and daring; Daan Heerma van Voss has not made it easy on himself. That is precisely why it is unfortunate that the book is unbalanced, not yet sufficiently crystallised. Ella's narrative perspective is often not quite right, the development of the characters and motivation for their actions only moderately convincing. As a result, the main characters do not really come alive.

Strong sentences and metaphors sometimes clash with weak scenes and phrasing. And the story unfolds rather slowly. All this made this novel - at least for this reader - a struggling reading experience. Which is a pity, because those who persevere are rewarded with a beautiful ending.

The final chapters, in which David and his father Max reconnect, are among the best and most touching of the novel. That is where the power of this story, which Daan Heerma van Voss must undoubtedly have been concerned about from the start, shows itself.