129. On the shores of time
I.
âThe world was spinning so fast that I was always a step behind, whatever stage of life I was in.â So writes Rob van Essen in his novel Ik kom hier nog op terug. The book is about time travel, or at least about rewriting the past. By doing so, you can bend history slightly to your will, which is, in turn, a kind of time travel. The book is sometimes as tedious as the characters themselves, but that is, of course, the intention. In the end, the story did make me think.
Thinking about how time flies. About missed opportunities. How you can sometimes feel like youâre on the sidelines whilst everything around you just carries on. As if youâre always arriving in the world a little too late. Rob, the main character in Iâll Come Back to This, is just such a person. Rob himself is a bit fed up with his passive attitude. How often does he write that he needs to come back to something? How often does he get fed up that he hasnât written enough? That he hasnât noted down the most important things?
Van Essen is a skilled writer and sometimes hits the reader out of the blue with a line like: âGod only knows how time really works, if it even exists; who knows, perhaps everything that happens takes place simultaneously and our minds impose an order upon it, but for us time is linear, and that is not without reason; we need that order to be able to continue believing in our existence.â
Ultimately, Rob is, of course, the protagonist of this book, who, despite his attempts to place himself outside of time, has nevertheless been given the leading role in his own story. You can make up whatever you like, but no one can escape that fate.
II.
The sense of time flying by was emphasised once again with the release of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. This is a remake of one of my all-time favourite games. The game was originally released in Europe in 2005 and the story is set in the 1960s, following the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy. The protagonist, Snake, is sent on a secret mission to the Russian jungle to prevent a new nuclear crisis.
Every time you save your progress in the game, you have a chat with a character who is mad about classic films. The first time, she asks Snake if he is familiar with Godzilla. âIn 2024, Godzilla will be 70 years old,â she then remarks. When I played this Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation 2, that year was still a long way off. Now, that future is suddenly a year in the past.
This remake (and the same goes for all modernised games) plays with time anyway. The graphics, for example, are completely up to date. The jungle has never looked better and the charactersâ faces are more detailed than ever. A different camera perspective has even been added, which refreshes the gameplay. But the level design and animations remain unchanged and therefore feel 20 years old. You can feel those years, even though the wrinkles have been smoothed away. A bit like that scene in The Irishman,in which a CGI-rejuvenated Robert De Niro, as an old man, beats someone to a pulp.
For me, it doesnât detract from the game; Iâm glad I can play it all over again. This Metal Gear is where my love for the series and for Hideo Kojimaâs games began. Even now, things happen in this game that you wonât find in any other. It combines dry geopolitics with the most insane Japanese quirkiness, and yet it works wonderfully well.
- - -III.
Iâd like to return briefly to Rob van Essenâs novel. He writes: âIt was precisely the events that cried out to be described in detail that rarely made it into the diary, because immediately after they had taken place, you didnât have the energy or time to note down everything that had happened or been thought; and later you never got round to it because there were already other things queuing up to be noted down.â
Keeping a diary is hard work. Iâve been carrying a Field Notes notebook around since March; I donât use it as a diary, but I do write in it every day. Lists, memories, books I still want to read, films I still want to watch, quotes from music or films. I write in them every day. Sometimes a few lines, sometimes a few full pages. By keeping these little books in my pocket, I can jot something down at any moment. Because what Van Essen writes is relatable: if you donât write it down straight away, itâs gone.
On The Verge this week, I read an article by Victoria Song about AI prompts in diary apps such as Day One, Appleâs Journal and Googleâs Journal. These apps offer writing suggestions based on photos youâve taken or places youâve visited. It makes writing easier, as it can be quite tricky to come up with something yourself.
But thatâs exactly the point, writes Song. I agree. It should take a bit of effort to jot something down; that way, youâre forced to think about what matters to you. Itâs not always the places youâve visited, but perhaps what your friends said. It takes a bit more discipline, but if you arenât constantly being given prompts, youâll naturally start to experience things differently (more intensely) and look around you. Another tip from Song and me: write with pen and paper!
PS.
Well, well, a new film by Yorgos Lanthimos. Emma Stone is in it again, and Jesse Plemons also stars in Borgonia. The film is about two blokes who are deep into conspiracy theories and decide to kidnap the CEO of a big company. They reckon sheâs an alien who wants to destroy the world. A lovely hysterical plot; the trailer looks brilliant.
- - -Werner Herzog doesnât even own a smartphone himself, but he is now on Instagram. âI got the feeling that I could share my work and other things with you.â
Director Jim Jarmusch is finally back with a new film following The Dead Donât Die (2019). Itâs called Father Mother Sister Brother and consists of three stories about adult children and their parents and how they relate to one another. Starring, among others, Adam Driver, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps and Tom Waits.
- - -This week marked the 60th anniversary of Bob Dylan releasing his album Highway 61 Revisited. It features Like a Rolling Stone, Ballad of a Thin Man and Desolation Row. Give it another spin to celebrate, Iâd say. Incidentally, a new single by Dylan was released this week: Donât Fence Me In. The song was recorded last year for the (not very successful) biopic about Ronald Reagan, in which it can be heard during the closing credits.
Youâve just read blog post â129, written during the week of 25 to 31 August 2025. Subscribe to my free newsletter to receive this blog in your inbox every Sunday.