Ten years ago 'The Shortage' was published, one of Martin Bril's first collections of short stories and still his favorite collection. It all started with 'The Shortage'. Almost at the same time as the publication of 'The Shortage', Bril started a daily column, first in 'Het Parool', and now for years in 'de Volkskrant'. 'The Shortage', the title says it all, is about people who fall short, not excluding the author. The book is a triptych: the central panel consists of three interrelated short stories about love, deceit and friendship, written in a minimalist, yet lyrical style. On the two side panels, the author shows various moments and personalities that have inspired him: a disabled child in the swimming pool, Martin Amis, a rowing boat in De Weerribben, Cornelis Bastiaan Vaandrager, a farmer's wife on a tractor and Rob Scholte. 'The Shortage' is a unique but powerful cocktail of fiction and non-fiction, of literature and journalism. Ten years after its publication, this book is still a wonderful proof of Bril's superior pen.