| OSCAR BENTON WEBSITE |
|---|
“There it comes again!” People always say when I indicate that a certain event would be a good start for a film or book. It was at the beginning of the corona period that I started writing a story. The reason was a 'there it comes again' experience during a holiday in Tuscany.
Zwijgen, Zweeg, GezwegenThe TomTom led us to our B&B destination. When we arrived there, we stood in front of an iron gate, but a large chain lock prevented us from entering the grounds. We went to a nearby village for lunch and to make a phone call. Then the gate was open and an exciting adventure awaited us…
Once I started writing I couldn't stop. In my experience, after two months I had finished the story of more than 120,000 words and had no intention of doing anything with it. In order for my sister to read it, who contributed many Indonesian passages, I had a copy printed in book form and then the story simply disappeared on the bookshelf.
At the end of 2020 I was in regular contact with publisher Franc Knipscheer in connection with the release of the book 'De Zeven Levens Van Oscar Benton' by Peter Bruyn. I was allowed to send him the manuscript although they were incredibly busy. Franc was wonderfully enthusiastic, but Peter de Rijk, his editor-in-chief, did not share that: “You are a good narrator but inexperienced writer.” Peter de Rijk has assisted me in recent years, in between the acts, to turn the story into the novel 'Zwijgen, Zweeg, Gezwegen’. The story is about Dutch East Indies people who have fled the Indies due to trauma and are on the threshold of a new uncertain life.
