Stormschade

by Youp van 't Hek

Youp en zijn columns. Gehaat en geliefd. Een tussenweg is er niet. Iedere zaterdag is de pagina met Youps stukje de eerste die de meeste NRC-lezers opslaan. Het is een eigenzinnige keek op de week van de cabaretier. Scherp en bot tegelijk. Als je naar zijn beweegredenen vraagt, is zijn antwoord dat hij vooral keihard moet lachen. Om alles. Alles waar mensen zich druk om maken. Mensen die spelletjes spelen. Van iets te bolle koningen tot stamelende alzheimerpremiers en van elkaar de tent uit vechtende bejaarden tot de radeloze bestuurders van zijn eigen Amsterdamse voetbalclub. Stormschade is de 31e bundel met zijn columns, die Thomas Rap al sinds 1989 uitbrengt. En waar Youp voorlopig niet mee ophoudt. Dat doet hij pas als het voelt als werk.

202 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2018

About the author

Youp van 't Hek is a Dutch comedian and a columnist for NRC Handelsblad. He was born and raised in the Gooi, a upper class region to the southeast of Amsterdam. His youth there served as an inspiration for his ironic attitude toward the rich, the successful and all those who are pretending to be either. After being kicked out of several high schools, he finally completed the one where he also led the school theater, and moved to Amsterdam. There he was one of the founding members of Cabaret NAR (Cabaret Jester). Throughout all the changes in Cabaret NAR, Youp was the only constant factor in it and because of him focusing more and more on their shows, he gradually became Cabaret NAR. In the beginning he (or Cabaret NAR) was not very successful, often not even successful enough to pay for their own shows. During all this he worked in some of those boring, mind-numbing, riskless, black-and-white, have-to-wear-a-suit, 9-to-5 kind of office jobs, which later inspired many of his jokes and imitations.

In the early 1980s Cabaret NAR success declined and Youp moved on as a solo artist. From then on he has had great popularity. Though his shows and statements may be considered controversial, he has developed himself, not only as a comedian, but also as an idealist. His humor is always mixed with a sense of irony towards modern life, culture, and national and international politics. Other themes often found in his shows and humor are death, hypocrisy, the innocence of children, the sincerity of the elderly, the gap between what society expects from you and what you, deep in your heart, want the most, and the question: "When would you call someone crazy and when would you call him/her normal or healthy?".

His big break came in 1983 on KRO's "De alles is anders-show". His energetic performance made him a household name overnight.

He is known as "the Buckler of Dutch comedians" because he ridiculed Buckler, a low-alcohol beer brewed by Heineken in his 1989 end-of-year show so effectively, sales plummeted and the brand was eventually withdrawn from the market.[1] Youp has often cited this as the best joke in his career and has subsequently referred to it in all his retrospective shows.

Reviews

[Marc Diepstraten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Youpie. Ik ben altijd fan geweest van Youp, dus were me dit in handen gedrukt. Verzameling columns. Het probleem met actualiteit is, is dat het zeer vergankelijk is en daardoor snel gedateerd. De stijl van Youp is spottend, wat sarcastisch, soms wat cynisch en aangenaam om te lezen. Ik snap de heisa rond zijn uitlatingen niet, je kunt overal aanstoot aan nemen.

[Muriël Van Der Wal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Verzameling columns. Ik houd er niet van. Vond het boek tijdens een vakantie in een verzamelkast. Boek was sterk gedateerd. Wellicht dat het daardoor komt dat ik de columns matig vond.