The Paradise of Sleep
A gripping novel about beauty, love and... euthanasia
The poet Joost Oomen writes cheerful books. He even manages to spin the tale of a jaded euthanasia doctor who has seen too much into an entertaining, infectious yarn.
The protagonists of this novel are Gerrit Blauw and Theo Engel. Gerrit is in his early seventies and has lived a pleasant, seemingly untroubled life. One day, out of the blue, he writes a letter to Theo, requesting this doctor assist him in suicide. This would of course be illegal, because there is nothing wrong with Gerrit. He’s not sick, nor is he in unbearable psychological distress – the two situations that allow for assisted dying in the Netherlands. But he feels that he’s done on this earth and simply wants to be able to ‘die a good death’.
The passages that look back on his boyhood make it abundantly clear that Gerrit has had a long and happy life. Oomen sets up a series of memorable images, such as playing hide-and-seek on a farm and, by chance, settling on the same hiding place as the girl he was in love with. Sweet moments like these are alternated with more surreal yet equally memorable imagery, such as a giraffe on a ferry to Terschelling, a small island off the coast of the Netherlands, where the African animal then vanishes without a trace.
Gerrit has savored the beauty of this world, and he is at peace knowing that it will go on after he’s gone. As a reader, you gradually come to understand where he’s coming from. You also understand Theo, who ultimately decides to flout all the rules and accede to Gerrit’s request, so he can finally get to see someone leave this world peacefully.
“Joost Oomen has managed to write a light-footed, cheerful novel about assisted dying, which shows how to celebrate a life – and let it go.”
“It’s a pleasure to spend time in one of Oomen’s magical-realist universes, where he gently teaches you to live with greater wonder. Oomen shows us how to see the beauty of everyday life through different eyes, all while a keen sense of social justice thrums beneath the surface.”
“A lyrical meditation on death, literature, beauty and love.”
