Lies, betrayal and secrets in interlinked stories.

Why does a biologist chase birds of prey in Africa? Is the man who puts his parrot up for sale on the net really the step brother of the buyer? And how is it possible to die of Blackwater Fever in Amsterdam in these times? The characters in these 7 overlapping stories all have a secret. Characters pop up in different stories, united by lying or being lied to, betraying or being betrayed – it makes for a stunning and coherent whole.

Amsterdam 1704. After the death of her parents 10 year old Bregtje is taken in by her uncle Frederik Ruysch, one of the most famous anatomists of his time. He has perfected a unique way to prepare human tissue, a secret others are trying to steal from him. Bregtje comes in contact with the opposition and gets embroiled in a sophisticated game of false leads and revenge that changes her life dramatically. Three centuries later, 10 year old Benjamin is living on the same Amsterdam canal opposite Ruysch’s house. On a holiday with his parents to St Petersburg he comes face to face with Ruysch’s specimens. They affect him deeply and one heroic act sends his life in a new direction. In spite of the time between them, the children meet in their thoughts on death, loss and turning adult.

 

‘It is one of Rascha Peper’s great strengths that she can present bizarre subjects and symbolic themes utterly convincingly. Her style is supple and natural … a great story-telling talent.’ De Volkskrant

 

‘Rascha Peper again shows that she is a talented writer, a story-teller, who has the ability to pull her readers into the colourful worlds she creates.’ De Telegraaf

 

'A thoroughly fascinating novel. Peper’s enthusiasm is contagious. Marzipan Fingers is so exciting that the reader will not be able to put the book down' Algemeen Dagblad

 

‘Peper once again delivers an example of beautiful and controlled writing.’ NRC Handelsblad

Uitgeverij Nieuw Amsterdam NL

 

Material: Dutch edition (317pp)

Superb new novella in which an art collector drowns in his love for a painting. Arnold Kee, who runs a gallery selling German romantic paintings, has done business with a particular collector, Terwindus, for years without ever really knowing him.

 

Almost invisible, certainly stubborn and uncommunicative and yet Kee is suddenly invited to come to his house. There he meets Terwindus's fantastic collection. From that moment on Kee is drawn into his awkward client's world and his financial problems.

 

Terwindus's overwhelming and all consuming passion for his paintings, in particular his Casper David Friedrich throws Kee into confusion. Is he to blame for Terwindus's downfall? Is his own love life as rich as that of this strange social outcast who loves his paintings more than himself?

Nieuw Amsterdam NL

 

Material: Dutch Edition

An instant bestseller in Holland, this new novel from one of Holland’s best writers was well worth waiting for. Peper's novels are superbly crafted and unputdownable.

 

A disappearance is central to the plot of WIE SCHEEP GAAT. Hannah, the main character is dead. Drowned, she lies on the bottom of the sea, in the saloon of a sunken yacht, pregnant. Once Hannah had a relationship with Gerard, a rather unworldly student who later becomes an oceanographer. But because her body has never been reclaimed from the water, Gerard, Hannah's father (an old tailor living in the Hague), Robin - another of Hannah's former lovers who is a diver and wants to investigate the wrecked yacht for her remains and Emma, Hannah's teenage niece who cannot properly mourn her, are all fixated with her. And just as the 10,000 little plastic ducks that Gerard has thrown to the seas east of Tasmania must each take a different stream to resurface on far away shores, so too must the four main characters take different paths too. This is an imposing, imaginative and moving novel, as deep and pleasurable as a long, hot bath and as far-reaching as the sea.

 

‘Peper's warm and rich universe makes the characters leap out of the novel’ Financieel Dagblad

 

'Rasha Peper is one of the best authors from amongst those who made their debut in the nineties. Her new novel 'WIE SCHEEP GAAT' shows in its broad approach her increasing expertise. Controlled, clear expertise. Peper's skilful narrative style demands universal respect. WIE SCHEEP GAAT is flawless. Peper's strength lies in the sharpness of her observations and the accuracy of her prose: occasionally you feel as if you are looking at a painting so well executed that you think it is a photograph. The moving power of all those pages stays with you like the melancholic light in which she places the eternal floating human.' De Groene Amsterdammer

 

'Peper writes flambuoyantly, her sentences flow smoothly, she has a clear feeling for humour and her characters are neither flatly realistic nor literarily artificial. Regardless of the length this is a book you want to read in one go. It is exciting, the story seems to head for a climax and you stay curious as to how it is going to develop.' HP de Tijd

 

'Taken separately all the characters are magnificent portraits. Peper has given each a convincing trait and a lively surrounding. The surly Gerard is heartbreaking on his own, added to by the comic developments with his Polish landlord, who has locked himself up with his whole family in a small room in his apartment. The scenes with Emma and Robin balancing between shyness, horniness and shame are incredibly well written. As is the scene where the old tailor dies of a stroke. All in all this is an imposing, imaginative and moving novel.' De Volkskrant

 

'Rascha Peper's new book stands an excellent chance of nomination for a literary prize. Peper deals with all the story lines with masterful ease. Peper's warm and rich universe makes the characters leap out of the novel; they become real. WIE SCHEEP GAAT is a book one really doesn't want to finish. Because when it is finished, the bath full of warm loving characters also drains away. But that little bath duck has sussed it. It still bobs happily against your toes.' Financieel Dagblad

'Rascha Peper has great qualities. She sets up the story well and produces intriguing characters. She writes well and has an eye for detail.' Het Parool

Veen NL (original publisher);

 

Marebuch, Germany.

 

Material: Dutch edition (480 pages), German edition.