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*SENSATIONAL WINNER OF THE BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE 2020*

‘One of the best debut novels I have ever read. Shockingly good … A classic.’ Max Porter
‘Haunting . . . reminded me a lot of Iain Banks. It’s incredible that it’s a debut.’ Douglas Stuart

‘Exceptional’ (Financial Times)
‘Exhilarating’ (Independent)
‘Luminous’ (Observer)
‘Beautifully wild’ (Guardian)
‘An earthy and irreverent new voice, thrillingly uninhibited’ (New York Times)

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, 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 VOGUE’S TOP FIVE DEBUTS
ONE OF THE OBSERVER’S HIGHLIGHTS
ONE OF THE GUARDIAN’S TOP TEN BEST NEW BOOKS IN TRANSLATION