WINNER OF THE BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE 2020
I asked God if he please couldn't take my brother Matthies instead of my rabbit. 'Amen.' Ten-year-old Jas has a unique way of experiencing her universe: the feeling of udder ointment on her skin as protection against harsh winters; the texture of green warts, like capers, on migrating toads; the sound of 'blush words' that aren't in the Bible. But when a tragic accident ruptures the family, her curiosity warps into a vortex of increasingly disturbing fantasies - unlocking a darkness that threatens to derail them all. A bestselling sensation in the Netherlands, Marieke Lucas Rijneveld's radical debut novel is studded with images of wild, violent beauty: a world of language unlike any other, exquisitely captured in Michele Hutchison's translation.
'One of the best debut novels I have ever read. Shockingly good ... A classic.' - Max Porter
'Exceptional' - Financial Times.
'Exhilarating' - Independent.
'Luminous' - Observer.
'Beautifully wild' - Guardian.
'An earthy and irreverent new voice, thrillingly uninhibited' - New York Times.
'The most talked about debut novel of 2020 already' - Dazed & Confused.