The Unbearable Burden of the Obvious Part I

Leo Feyaerts (Dessel, 1945) was a Kempen student in the middle of the Leuven Linguistic Conflict. He obtained a master's degree in Modern History in 1972 and taught at the Episcopal College in Echt (the Netherlands) until his retirement in 2007. In addition to his field of study, his interests include politics, philosophy and literature. Part I: The introverted Carlo from the Antwerp Kempen region, a student at the Catholic University of Leuven, is drawn into the world of alcohol and women that characterises the life of the student club "Mother Geelse" by the exuberant "Big Bad Wolf". This society provides him with the distraction he needs to deal with his family problems, love troubles and childhood memories. At the same time, he is confronted with the Flemish-Walloon division (the Linguistic Conflict) and the disputes between the Left and the Right. Part II introduces his comrade Staf Van der Auwera and Carlo's mother. Part III offers a fundamental critique of left-wing egalitarianism and the contemporary obsession with tolerance, especially the philosophers Adorno and Derrida. With deep psychological insight, the complete trilogy offers a powerful period document.