He grew up in a Jewish Orthodox family and attended City Grammar School in Den Bosch.

The latter, which was also rewritten into a novel, is the story of an unemployed young boy who does not know how to handle life, and who goes slowly but inevitably insane.

Just like Hoffman's honger, De ruimte van Sokolov is a literary thriller, this time set in Israel.

In 1995 De Winter wrote Zionoco, the story of a rabbi, who has lost his faith, and is searching for his Jewish roots.

These attempts to bring order out of chaos are a result of discontent with seemingly empty and aimless lives.

On 26 December 2007, de Winter announced a stop to his political writings on blogs and magazines and that he was considering a one-year sabbatical with his family to California.