Within the world of Dutch letters, Louis Couperus has a status comparable to that of Marcel Proust. Therefore, one would expect that a book-long essay about Couperus and his work would cause a stir and some excitement, but apparently not. Angst en schoonheid. Louis Couperus, de mystiek der zichtbare dingen (Engl. "Fear and Beauty: Louis Couperus and the mysticism of the visual world") is a very interesting exploration of the works of Louis Couperus.

Bas Heijne writes that he has had a life-long interest in Couperus, and parts of the essay are reflections on his teaching creative writing using novels of Couperus as examples. The essay can roughly be divided into two parts, each pondering an idea of the author about aspects of Couperus.

The first part looks mainly at biographical aspects of Louis Couperus. The inspiration for this part is formed by the recent discovery of a film fragment of only 23 seconds, recorded on 9 June 1923, a few weeks before his death (p. 25). This fragment forms the basis of a broad speculation about Couperus as a person, suggesting that an explanation for Couperus' enormous productivity could be found in his urge to make himself invisible. According to this thesis, Couperus would hide in world he conjured up, assuming identity in his own novels. Pointing at the correspondence of Couperus, which is scant and mainly with his publisher, Heijne points out how particularly impersonal this correspondence is, mainly only about royalties and practical matters related to the publishing of his books. Couperus was also very sparse with comments about himself in interviews. Marcel Proust also did not write much correspondence.

Another motive for making himself invisible could perhaps be found in Couperus' homosexuality, a theme often embedded in his novels. In that view, Couperus would be masquerading in his work, assuming other identities in the form of characters in his novels. Couperus is often described as a very narcistic personality.

The other main thesis of the essay focuses on fear, particularly the fear experienced by the Dutch for the mysticism of the East. This part of the essay is merely a reformulation of a very well known motive in the work of Couperus centred on the novel De stille kracht (Engl The Hidden Force). Heijne's vivid descriptions seem to be based on the 1974 TV serial based on the novel.

The two theses of the essay are not very clearly connected, although there is a faint suggestion that Couperus "ghostly" appearance was a result of his fatique. Obviously, the essay discusses many of Couperus novels, mainly in relation to the author's personal development, and some contemporary novelists, besides.

The writing style of the essay is fluent and with ease. It is obvious that Heijne is in his element. The fragmented nature of the essay likely stems from the fact that it is based on previously published and unpublished material brought together. Regardless of the success of the essay as a unity or formation of a single coherent thesis, Angst en schoonheid. Louis Couperus, de mystiek der zichtbare dingen is a must read for those with an interest in Louis Couperus. ( )

Er wringt iets tussen Heijne's schrijfstijl en zijn onderwerpen. Couperus is een voorbeeld. Aan hem voelt Heijne zich verwant. Maar terwijl Couperus zich laat gaan, is schrijver Heijne altijd maar kalme zee. Alsof de schrijver Heijne dode vulkaan is, anders dan de mens Heijne (hoor je hem spreken, is dat duidelijk).

Die kalme zee uit zich inhoudelijk negatief door de geregeld net een slag te ver doorgevoerde 'ter verheldering versimpelde' weergave van dingen. Behalve een zich dan opdringende 'behulpzame onderwijzer' dreigt dan ook banaliteit. Schopenhauer samenvatten met "Geen wereld zonder dat we ons eerst een voorstelling van die wereld maken: Schopenhauer" is banaal. Zo ook is Heijne's vocabulaire van wereld, bewustzijn, verbeelding, inbeelding, ongeschikt om veel bijzonders mee te kunnen meedelen. Ander voorbeeld is de lapidaire wijze waarop Heijne de theosofie bij Couperus behandeld: "occulte operette". Bij de kalm voortkabbelende zinnen die dit oordeel omringen dreigt de lezer in slaap te vallen, dit oordeel kan er ook nog wel bij. Intussen beargumenteert Heijne zijn oordelen zelden. Het leidt tot prettig korte essays maar dit is het nadeel. Overstijgt Heijne de borreltafel wel?

Deze laatste gedachte krijgt men ook doordat Heijne, dit keer openlijker dan bij eerdere gelegenheden, onthult dat wat hij (dit keer) Couperus in de geest legt, zijn eigen preoccupaties zijn. Dat is de lezer van zijn essays wel duidelijk. Omdat juist bij die terugkerende, niet heel persoonlijk uitgewerkte vragen Heijne's passie ligt, krijgen zijn essays soms trekken van verkapte autobiografieën, waarbij de omweg over derden iets lafs heeft - 'Spreek dan direct in de ik-vorm'.

Maar overheersend is, om bij het begin terug te keren, de frictie tussen kabbeltoon / vlakke landschap en onderwerpen met vulkanische kwaliteiten. ( )