BOOK: Meneer Visser's Hellevaart - S. Vestdijk

Title: Meneer Visser's Hellevaart (Mr. Visser's perdition)
Author: Simon Vestdijk
Genre: Novel (1936)
Publisher: Salamander Klassiek (Classics)
Pages: Hardcover 340
Language: Dutch
Rating: 6/10

Summary: A day in the life of Mr. Visser, a small town man on a power trip. Written from his point of view, this is a disturbing look inside the mind of a sadist. Mr. Visser is obsessed with showing his superiority. Better to hurt others before they have a chance to find out what a sad little man he really is. He enjoys to make (and watch) people squirm. Especially his wife is an easy victim for his perverted pleasures. He loves to play nasty tricks on her and then tell his 'friends' all about how scared she got.
Today he is summoned by the police commissioner about an incident involving one of his tennants. Mr. Visser is slightly worried, but spends most of his day thinking about ways to get back at everybody who can potentially harm him. Any information he digs up about his friends and enemies will be used against them.

This brought back some bad memories, a very personal review
This story made me feel very uncomfortable. I had a rough time getting into the brain of Mr. Visser, not in the least because I recognized his unpleasant behavior. I don't want to give a certain member of my family too much credit, but this hit a little too close to home. It's an awfully good book, but if you are looking for a character to love you will not find it. This is a very raw look at the dark side of humans: the ability to hurt other people by playing with their feelings and messing with their minds. It's something I inherited and I definitely do not need to be reminded of having that power. It brings out the worst in people. The story made me shiver.