Read Online Safe as Houses by Simone van der Vlugt - Free Book Online
Authors: Simone van der Vlugt
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hindsight I realise that was what Mark wanted. Finally he had me all to himself.â
She recounts her difficult struggle to escape from her isolation. Mark persuaded her not to go to a psychiatrist, which he thought was just an expensive way of grousing. Mark couldnât understand why she would want to share her thoughts and feelings with a stranger, when her husband was there for her the whole time. He found it insulting, wounding, completely unnecessary. And, whatâs more, they couldnât afford it.
This was how Mark became the only thing she could cling to as she sank further and further into a deep sea of depression. The tide turned when she joined some internet forums. She ordered anti-depressants from an online chemist and slowly rediscovered the world around her again â only to find that Mark was leading a double life.
âHe was cheating on you,â Kreuger states.
âNot only that: he had two sons with that woman.â Lisaâs voice sounds dull. âWhen I announced that I wanted a divorce, he became furious and threatened to take Anouk away from me. It wouldnât have been that difficult for him, because heâd printed all my correspondence from those forums and saved the invoices for the anti-depressants. I was terrified heâd get sole custody of Anouk.â
âBut he didnât. Of course he didnât â they always let the mothers keep the children.â There is an aggressive undertone to Kreugerâs voice.
âNot always.â Lisa lifts the espresso cup to her mouth and takes a sip. âAnd Mark didnât take it to court. He left Anouk with me. Actually, he dumped both of us.â
13
Sentaâs greatest dream had always been to become a journalist. Preferably for a big, respected newspaper. But once she was employed by one, she realised that the magazine world was much more attractive to her. She didnât hesitate to make the change and never regretted it. One promotion followed another, with Senta making editor-in-chief of one of the biggest womenâs magazines before her fortieth birthday.
Getting a good interview requires special skill. Anyone can fire off a series of questions, but you need to be able to do more than this to have a good conversation. Many journalists make the mistake of talking too much themselves, when all they really need to bring to the room is empathy. The only way to think up good leading questions is through trying to understand the interviewee âand the self-knowledge prompted by such questions will lead the interviewee, in turn, to give answers that make for remarkable reading.
This was what had happened with Alexander Riskens. A writer who led a fairly reclusive life, he wasnât known for his generosity in giving interviews, and it had taken a lot of effort to get him to agree to talk to someone. He had consented only on the condition that she, the editor-in-chief, should do the interview, and she was happy to oblige: she had been a fan of his work for years and wouldnât have dreamed of passing it on to one of her colleagues.
It had been an exciting afternoon. Alexander turned out to be a friendly man who didnât like to talk about himself, making for a tough start. It took three quarters of an hour before she began to win his confidence and could progress from clichéd questions to deeper emotional matters.
She had managed by avoiding the taboo topics, such as the deaths of his wife and young daughter, and questioning him only the subjects that he raised himself. At the beginning this meant that they just talked about his work, and about the writerâs block that had paralysed him.
At a certain point they almost imperceptibly slipped into the subject of his private life, and finally there was such a good rapport between them thatSenta found it difficult to bring the interview to a close. Alexander seemed to feel the same way, because he invited her to have lunch with him in
She recounts her difficult struggle to escape from her isolation. Mark persuaded her not to go to a psychiatrist, which he thought was just an expensive way of grousing. Mark couldnât understand why she would want to share her thoughts and feelings with a stranger, when her husband was there for her the whole time. He found it insulting, wounding, completely unnecessary. And, whatâs more, they couldnât afford it.
This was how Mark became the only thing she could cling to as she sank further and further into a deep sea of depression. The tide turned when she joined some internet forums. She ordered anti-depressants from an online chemist and slowly rediscovered the world around her again â only to find that Mark was leading a double life.
âHe was cheating on you,â Kreuger states.
âNot only that: he had two sons with that woman.â Lisaâs voice sounds dull. âWhen I announced that I wanted a divorce, he became furious and threatened to take Anouk away from me. It wouldnât have been that difficult for him, because heâd printed all my correspondence from those forums and saved the invoices for the anti-depressants. I was terrified heâd get sole custody of Anouk.â
âBut he didnât. Of course he didnât â they always let the mothers keep the children.â There is an aggressive undertone to Kreugerâs voice.
âNot always.â Lisa lifts the espresso cup to her mouth and takes a sip. âAnd Mark didnât take it to court. He left Anouk with me. Actually, he dumped both of us.â
13
Sentaâs greatest dream had always been to become a journalist. Preferably for a big, respected newspaper. But once she was employed by one, she realised that the magazine world was much more attractive to her. She didnât hesitate to make the change and never regretted it. One promotion followed another, with Senta making editor-in-chief of one of the biggest womenâs magazines before her fortieth birthday.
Getting a good interview requires special skill. Anyone can fire off a series of questions, but you need to be able to do more than this to have a good conversation. Many journalists make the mistake of talking too much themselves, when all they really need to bring to the room is empathy. The only way to think up good leading questions is through trying to understand the interviewee âand the self-knowledge prompted by such questions will lead the interviewee, in turn, to give answers that make for remarkable reading.
This was what had happened with Alexander Riskens. A writer who led a fairly reclusive life, he wasnât known for his generosity in giving interviews, and it had taken a lot of effort to get him to agree to talk to someone. He had consented only on the condition that she, the editor-in-chief, should do the interview, and she was happy to oblige: she had been a fan of his work for years and wouldnât have dreamed of passing it on to one of her colleagues.
It had been an exciting afternoon. Alexander turned out to be a friendly man who didnât like to talk about himself, making for a tough start. It took three quarters of an hour before she began to win his confidence and could progress from clichéd questions to deeper emotional matters.
She had managed by avoiding the taboo topics, such as the deaths of his wife and young daughter, and questioning him only the subjects that he raised himself. At the beginning this meant that they just talked about his work, and about the writerâs block that had paralysed him.
At a certain point they almost imperceptibly slipped into the subject of his private life, and finally there was such a good rapport between them thatSenta found it difficult to bring the interview to a close. Alexander seemed to feel the same way, because he invited her to have lunch with him in
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