Jeroen Theunissen is one of the most interesting young voices emerging in the Flemish literary scene. In his Radio Books story, a man travels to a remote part of the world measuring his life in the distance between places – and people.

Jeroen Theunissen - 'The Distance'

Theunissen was born in Ghent in 1977 and lives there still. He studied German language and literature and had poems published in literary journals such as Deus ex Machina. He was also writer-in-residence for the journal Yang. He made his literary debut in 2004 with the novel ‘De onzichtbare’ (The Invisible). A melancholy portrait of ordinary people, one review also called it “a sociological investigation in the form of a novel.” 

The following year he won the Public’s Prize for his collection of poetry 'Thuisverlangen' (Homesick). In 2006 he published ‘Het Einde’ (The End) which explores modern global challenges and at the same time stretches the boundaries of fiction.

Lost in Patagonia

Theunissen has traveled extensively in Latin America and his latest novel, ‘Een vorm van vermoeidheid’ (A Form of Fatigue) is about a man who abandons his comfortable life in a small university town in Europe and travels to Patagonia. It might also be the unnamed location of his story for Radio Books.

"This story is about homelessness. Philip can’t be at home. Philip Short is an engineer who has the opportunity to go with a Canadian mining company to a remote part of the world where there’ve been some protests. Because he feels there’s little he’s leaving behind in Toronto and perhaps because the distance attracts him, he accepts the offer with few second thoughts."

‘The Distance’ by Jeroen Theunissen was translated by Sherry Marx. The story is read by David Swatling.

The series Radio Books is an initiative of the Flemish-Dutch Huis de Buren in Brussels, in association with the Flemish broadcaster Klara and Radio Netherlands Worldwide.