De fictie van de buitenplaats. Over het komen en gaan van elites is a small collection of short essays about mansions and countryhouses. While the essays convey some interesting ideas and notions, the publication is of very limited interest.

The contributers are mostly young writers and essayists. They share a dislike and disgruntlement both for the elites in the past, who built the mansions, and the modern day elites who transform these masions into B&B and resorts to escape modern life.

Most essays are very, very short (just 2 or 3 pages) and contain but fleeting observations. Grunberg's observations about Kleist's Michael Kohlhaas hardly seem to bear on the overall topic of the book.

The short essays by Hanneke Ronnes about Audrey Hepburn and Belle van Zuylen is among the most interesting contributions. ( )