The Vanishing

I don’t remember the last time I’ve been so enthralled in a book! I could barely put it down from start to finish. Highly, highly recommend.

A terrifying tale. The moment at the end is described so vividly I felt for a moment I had suffered the same fate. A gem of psychological horror. The author also manages to portray the complexity of male/ female relationships with the same sophistication as Milan Kundera.

A man and his girlfriend stop for a break whilst driving to their holiday desination. She goes in to buy drinks and vanishes. He spends the next 8 years thinking abou ther, trying to work out what happened. He tries to get on with his life but his missing lover haunts him. After 8 years he spends a fortune trying to get the story by taking out ads and this brings the man who knows what happens to Rex's girlfriend to his door. Does he really what to know what happened?

Rex Hofmann and his girlfriend Saskia Ehlvest, a young Dutch couple, are on their way to the South of France. At a Fina gas station they stop to stretch their legs and have something to drink. Waiting for his girlfriend to return, Rex decides to take a picture of the gas station. He does not know that this picture will be the only clue as to what happened to Saskia at that same moment. Years later he still cannot comprehend her disappearance and embarks on an obsessive search for her.This rather short story has a really sharp edge to it. The very well written plot builds up to suspenseful finale, where the reader is enticed to a dance with his own conscience: Can not knowing the truth become an obsession that drives you to the extreme? One thing is certain: this story will not leave your mind easily. It is a disturbing little bugger, but one you cannot but love for its genuineness.This novella, written in 1984 by the Dutch writer Tim Krabbe, is titled "Het gouden ei" (The Golden Egg) and has been made into a Dutch movie "Spoorloos" (Untraceable) in 1988. This movie is sometimes even more disturbing that the original story, because the scenario, also written by Tim, is more elaborate and the characters seem to have obtained more depth. In 1993 an American remake "The Vanishing" was created, starring Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland, Nancy Travis and Sandra Bullock. But, believe me: you better skip this monster of a movie.

The book, The Vanishing, is a gripping, easy to read story about the formation of intense obsession and how it drives two men in their separate quests. Rex Hofman is a man who is deeply obsessed with trying to find out what happened to his girlfriend, who disappeared at a gas station during their vacation. This obsession is fueled by the intense need to know what happened to her, and it takes over his life, making it impossible for him to maintain relationships with other women. Raymond Lemorne, on the other hand, is a seemingly normal family man who wants to determine the extent of his evilness. When the obsessions of these men bring them together, the ending produced is unforgettable and truly disturbing. It is a unique ending for those who are tired of the predictability that is found in many suspense stories and it explores the limits of how far one will go to find the truth.

Krabbe wrote an amazing, unorthodox story. The book is one of the most horrifying I ever read, but at the same time it's a beautiful love story. A real pageturner and something to think about. One can really empathize in the main character's feelings. When he's about to make a deal with the 'devil', the reader feels the same dilemma: take the risk and find out the truth, or live in the agony of ignorance. But in fact there is no other choice than to turn to the next page.