It is 1969, the year of the moon landing. Henk and Rocco share a bedroom. Henk likes to read books; Rocco is crazy about football. At night, before going to sleep, they have bunk bed conversations in the dark. They talk about girls and music, death and the universe. During the day, they argue like only brothers who love each other can. Gradually, they grow apart, until Rocco has a serious accident.
Bunkbed Brothers is the story of Henk and Rocco Bakker, who grow up in a loving family in a working-class neighbourhood at the end of the 1960s, told by Henk, the older of the two. He wants to get ahead in life, but can you ever transcend your humble beginnings?
‘The literary strength of Bunkbed Brothers lies, in the touching way in which he describes the close bond between Henk and his little brother Rocco. (…) This brotherly love is beautifully conveyed in their bunkbed conversations in the dark: brilliant, anecdotal dialogue about girls and music, but also about the infinity of the universe, whether nothing means something, and what is beautiful.’ – NRC Handelsblad
‘The brotherly love is heart-warming. (…) Brilliantly accurate prose (…) a poignant portrait of an era.’ – Trouw
