Het Verdwijnen van Ferdi Heijen

Max Hermens received a contribution to develop his new book. Het Verdwijnen van Ferdi Heijen follows Ferdi, a cheeky village boy who lives in the countryside, between tractors and cornfields, between farms and pigsties. He has a converted go-kart with a wooden cabin on top and between its wheels he has welded the engine of a Solex. With it he rides all over the countryside in search of some quick pennies. The novel sketches a crumbling rural culture, where many farmers have gone bankrupt due to economies of scale, where mixed cultivation has made room for a single crop, and where villagers try to survive under these conditions. Each character, in their own way, diverts to other ways of making ends meet, from living in someone else's converted stables to selling used cars, from dodgy wage work to sneaky deals.

Max grew up among farms and pigsties. He writes about the countryside, about nature, and about children and young people, each struggling with poverty in their own way. There are often exciting and adventurous elements in his stories, set against a backdrop of larger issues such as social inequality.