Het mislukte leven is not published separately, as a book. Rather, it functions as a long introduction to Ik ben ik niet, a selection of the essays, mostly literary criticism, of J.J. Voskuil.

Detlev van Heest is a Dutch author, who was 'discovered' by Voskuil. Their friendship is the basis of this long interview between Van Heest and the widow of Voskuil. They speak about their lives, and about Voskuil's novels.

Het mislukte leven is a wonderful reading experience to fans of the work of Voskuil. It provides a wealth of insight into Voskuil's life and work, while it is written closely to the style of Voskuil, and admirably captures the style of conversation between Maarten and Nicolien, i.e. the late author and his wife as they appear in the novels, particularly in Het Bureau.

It is wonderful that this long interview, written out into prose, appears in a book which bears the name of Voskuil, rather than Van Heest. When it was published in 2014, very few biographical works were available on Voskuil. As it stands, Het mislukte leven will remain a valuable source on the biography of Voskuil and his work. ( )