Interview with Koos Verkaik

First, congratulations on your new novel. It seems to have achieved a favorable reception! Tell me what you find precarious in the contemporary moment that merits literary expression. Your latest work concerns the social climate, does it not?

Dance of the Jester is a novel that runs parallels with the reality today, and contains strong elements of future predictability which are subtlety revealed especially to those with discernment and who are able to read between the lines. It enacts at the end of this century.

This is what the book is about:

Tycoons rule the world (business first, no matter what).

24/7 festivities for all people all over the globe (unlimited bread and games).

The ones who rule are the ones who divide the cake (only the tycoons themselves benefit).

Everything around you changes (and there is nothing you can do about it).

It is all about more monetary gains and greed, and the lust for ultimate power!

Those who hold the power shall deliberate and plan about your future (except you are not invited).

The runaway train of greed has left the station (and no one is able to stop it).

Governments have disappeared (powerful bankers in collusion with business corporates have come to the throne).

A colorful world from the outside (yet grey and dull becomes the reality as experienced from the inside).

We all knew deep down in our conscious awareness that this would happen someday (and now we realize it has already begun).

The entire world has gone raving mad (and only a jester can change things around).

One thing you explore here is how we can challenge the power structure. How does your central character find himself in a position to do such? 

Oscar Man is the illegitimate son of tycoon Otto Man. 

Once he was a prince; then he became a pariah, with nothing to lose for himself and so much to win for the world…

In these turbulent times, the Second Renaissance, strange creatures come into power and try to subject every single human being. But Oscar Man appears to be a very strange creature too and he shows the way to freedom.  His journey leads him from Switzerland to the USA and back in his relentless search for a special manuscript that will bring the highly necessary revelation. 

The enemy makes the poor jester Oscar Man dance. But ultimately the former prince will manage to solve the world’s biggest problems ever!

Would you describe your message as cryptic, or somehow encrypted? What social situation could entail that we start "encrypting" our criticism?

Yes, the message is cryptic. If you are not able to read between the lines, it is just a novel. But look how fast our world has changed. Being extremely rich seems to be enough to rule the world and make decisions in your own advantage. And the only reason for that is to gain more money and more power. Warlords don’t care if hundreds of thousand people die to conquer a piece of land, tycoons push everyone aside who doesn’t want to dance on their false tune. People are expected to bow for someone, just because he owns a lot of money.

A rich fool has more power than a poor wise man.

Rich fools can only be defeated by crazy jesters…

Why a jester? Is there a history of the jester that interests you?

I studied jesters since I was a boy. They intrigue me. Their origin goes back a couple of thousand years, when the Germanic tribes in Europe held special festivities. Jester-like men had the right to steal and went into houses to take some food. They were dedicated to the god Wodan (Odin in Scandinavia). I wrote about that in my novel All-Father, mentioned jesters in my novel Wolf Tears and even mentioned them in a children’s book, The Jester of Nottingham.

Long ago there was a wonderful tradition. Once a year a fool could sit on the King’s throne and rule for a day.

And jesters were the only ones who could insult a King without getting punished.

I really love to write about jesters. And Oscar Man is a very special jester who finds out the secret that even the mighty tycoons don’t understand.

What aesthetic challenges did the writing of this book present?

To write a good novel you have to think about every single line, it is a challenge to create an aesthetic atmosphere. For me it all goes automatically. I never had a writer’s block. The moment I sit down at my desk, I am able to write. In Dance of the Jester I wanted to tell a story with unique ingredients. I write about modern times, but never used the word computer. I came up with original settings and the most odd characters. A jester like Oscar receives hard blows, the tycoons who crowned themselves Kings and Queens become grotesque characters with crazy ideas.

Finally the rich turn out to be the real fools and the jester rises above them.

Tell me something about your literary process that you have not spoken of before. 

I learnt how to write in total silence. When I was a boy, I could write both day and night. But my parents forbid me to write when it was already late. My father’s bookkeeper understood my drive to create stories and gave me a special light bulb. The bulb was covered with thick black paint and only a small beam shone down. I could make it shine on my desk in my bedroom – the rest of the room was covered in total darkness. Sitting there, it would have been a waste of time to do nothing, so I wrote page after page, hundreds of pages in a few months. I think that is the reason why I am still able to start writing as soon as I sit down for it. That special light bulb was from the Second World War, when it was forbidden to make light at night, because fighter planes were always looking for places to drop their bombs.

Are you in doubt about the future of the liberal democratic world order? Do those doubts find resolution and expression in the novel?

Doubts come up the moment people are in charge who only think of their own benefit. I think we live in a dangerous time. And we have the aggressive leaders who sent soldiers to death without blinking. As far as that is concerned I always have Bob Dylan’s song "Masters of War" in mind: “You play with my world like it’s your little toy…” Yes, when you read Dance of the Jester you will realize my big doubts. We are people, not puppets.

What can antiquity teach the writer about the present moment and how to bear it?

We can all learn from what happened in the past. History never repeats itself, because every time will be different. It is okay to write books just for entertainment, but I prefer to put some more in every novel and everyone who is able to read between the lines will figure out what I think about the most important things as politics and religion.

Do you worry your work will cause you trouble? Do you feel the novel's purpose was understood by readers and critics?

I never worry about getting into trouble. I am responsible for everything I write and I know there is nothing wrong with my stories. But yes, of course I hope the readers will understand everything. In the first place I want my readers to have a good time. I am not a teacher. So far all reviews have been wonderful and I am extremely grateful for that.

You are called the Stephen King of the Netherlands. Do you find philosophical consolation in King's horror fiction? 

A literary agent sent Dance of the Jester to Bill Thompson, the editor of the first books of Stephen King and John Grisham. Bill was so enthusiastic about it that he invited me to New York and we met in his office in the Empire State Building. “Stephen King is an institute on itself,” he said, “he is such a great man.” I totally agree. He is a phenomenon. Bill Thompson and I discussed Dance of the Jester and we made some changes in the story. I was very proud when he said he really loved the manuscript. It gave me extra strength to push on.

Then the Outer Banks Publishing Group in North Carolina published the book and later Pharos Books in New Delhi, India, published it in Hindi.

Dance of the Jester was originally published in The Netherland and I recently signed as contract for a translation into Greek with Anima Publishing in Athens.

I am curious how you feel about President Trump's offer to buy Greenland from Denmark. Is this kind of political act something the novel spoofs as well?

I want it. So it has to happen. That seems to be the new rule. Yes, that kind of thing are mentioned in Dance of the Jester as well. Don’t take what’s not yours. Buy Greenland, buy the world, buy the entire universe. What’s the use?

What is meant by encryption? Do novelists encrypt their authorial intent behind personas in their writing? 

I think many novelists do, yes, including myself. And as a writer I am always able to understand any possible character. I can understand my heroes as well as their saddest, meanest enemies. Writing a good novel is a fantastic game. You can put much of yourself in one character, you can bring another one to life who is not like you at all.

If you had to define one doubt your book aims to resolve for you as the writer, what would it be?

I always try to remain positive. I wrote about 70 different books now. Many of my stories have different layers and the readers always wonder what exactly is happening. But at the end I always come up with an explanation. Everything must have become clear for the readers before I write: The End.

In their reviews, the readers let me know that they understood everything I wrote:

“Mystery, history, intrigue, great writing, intricate, original world building, symbolism, allusion, and a rip-roaring finish to a tale populated by exquisitely sculpted characters clad in absurdly Dickensian attire; you couldn't ask more of a book. Jester is set in a steampunk (by choice) end-of-the-21st-century world where runaway capitalism has turned CEOs and tycoons into monarchs. Like a jester, Verkaik is a master of slight-of-hand, twisting and turning his plot on itself, continually evolving it from one thing into something else entirely. Part sicfi, part horror, part coming-of-age, part deep dive into the existential nature of humanity, Dance of the Jester is great literature posing as …. Well, great literature. A must read.”

Thank you so much for the opportunity to explain everything about Dance of the Jester. Greetings from The Netherlands.