KAREL G. VAN LOON

THE MOST WIDELY PUBLISHED DUTCH WRITER EVER

'This remarkable Dutch novelist is not just one to watch - he is one to live by.' The Times

THE INVISIBLE ONES (DE ONZICHTBAREN)

"In the evening we will sit on the veranda and I will tell you about the events that have made me who I am: a blind refugee from Burma in a camp in the Thai jungle. Through my life story I will show you my country, the way you can see the whole garden in a dewdrop."

Min Thien, a lawyer in a sleepy provincial town in Burma, does all he can to avoid confrontations with the military regime of his country. But one bad day he incurs the wrath of the district commander. From that moment on, he is shadowed, intimidated and thwarted. When his wife, after many unfruitful years, becomes pregnant, he decides that he wants a different future for his child. In fleeing his country, he loses everything that is precious to him: his wife, his unborn child, and the sight in the only good eye he had left. THE INVISIBLE ONES is a gripping novel about the life of a refugee. Hair-raising descriptions of the fate of Burma’s political prisoners alternate with Buddhist mythical stories and moving memories of a carefree childhood. And just like the protagonists in van Loon’s previous novels, Saw Per Kaw is also searching for the true nature of love. 'A beautiful novel.' De Telegraaf 'Definitely a success.' Spitz 'a lyrical and evocative portrait' Irrawaddy

'A timely novel by this talented Dutchman, The Invisible Ones, sensitive to the complexities of Burmese life, is as compelling an example of witness fiction as one might find.' The Independent

Material: Dutch edition (256 pages); German edition; English edition

Sales: Veen NL (original publisher); Gustav Kiepenheuer Germany; Norstedts Sweden; Maia Press UK.

A FATHER’S AFFAIR (DE PASSIEVRUCHT)

'A whodunit of the heart, compelling, touching and peculiar.' Michel Faber

'This is a book that knocks Hornby and Parsons and a host of similar male novelists into a cocked hat. Heart-breaking, funny and wry.' Sunday Herald

Winner of the top Dutch literary prize, the GENERALE BANK PRIZE 1999, and a HUGE bestseller (over 250,000 copies sold) in Holland. A beautifully written ode to love that combines the best qualities of a thriller with the delicacy of a love story and always manages to strike to right tone. A superbly crafted and well-written story of great power: Armin is in his 30s. He has a young son, Bo. Bo’s mother, Monika died when the child was only 3. Now Armin and his new wife, Ellen, want to have children. But Armin is told that he has always been infertile. So, who is Bo’s father? A wonderful novel – in a word, irresistible. One of those rare novels that perfectly achieves the ideal combination of literary quality and commercial potential.

'When Amsterdamer Armin Minderhout learns that he is infertile, the shock isn't just in discovering he can never have children: it's because he already has a 13 year old son. Which leads to the question of who Bo's father really is. With Bo's mother dead, no one seems able to supply the answer. Haunted by the need to know, Armin embarks on a new quest to discover the truth, regardless of who is hurt in the telling. A bestseller in Holland, Van Loon's novel unwinds with a thriller's pace. As well as tackling the issue of fatherhood, it is also a love story. But at its core is an emotive invitation to paranoia as each stone Armin looks under reveals just how little he knew about the woman he loved - and raises unsettling questions about how much one person can ever know about another.' Observer

Material: Many editions

Sales: Veen NL; Norstedts Sweden; Cappelen Norway; Gummerus Finland; Gustav Kiepenheuer Germany; Albin Michel France; El Cobre Spain; Patakis Greece; Canongate UK & USA; Kinneret Israel; Pont Hungary; Gendas Genel Turkey; Kodansha Japan; Host & Son Denmark; Fazi Italy; Queillerie South Africa; Metafora Czech Republic; Alfa-Narodna knjiga Serbia; Dom Quixote Portugal; New Sprouts Publisher Taiwan (Chinese complex characters); AST Russia; Wydawnictwo W.A.B. Poland; Record Brazil; Bard Bulgaria; Marjan Tisak Publishing House Croatia; Globus R Albania; HarperCollins Canada; Edda Iceland; Pegasus Estonia; Madris Latvia; Serambi limu Semesta PT Indonesia; Zalozba Tuma Slovenia; Musu Knyga Lithuania; Sodam Publishing Korea; Humanitas Romania.

Film Rights: 24fps

'Completely original... combines the finest elements of a psychological thriller and literary read.' Elle, France

Stunning in its simplicity.' Time Out

'Don't miss this passionate story about love, grief, sex... van Loon is wise, funny, entertaining and profound. If you want to be reminded of what it means to human, read De Passievrucht.' Bergensavisen, Norway

'...van Loon’s clever plot forces you to go on reading.' NRC Handelsblad

'De PASSIEVRUCHT is a small masterpiece… compelling from beginning to end, tense and witty.' Elsevier

'An exciting, very moving novel written with great talent… The writer’s overall control is masterly.' De Volkskrant

LISA'S BREATH (LISA'S ADEM)

His second novel is another phenomenal bestseller in Holland. Three central characters are all connected to the absent Lisa, who disappeared suddenly while on holiday in France, aged 17. For Talm, her boyfriend, she was his first love; for her mother, her only child; for her stepfather, the secret that is his undoing. But was Lisa kidnapped, did she commit suicide, or did she simply run away? Those who remain must live with unanswerable questions. Speculation is fuelled by loss, by an absence that does not have an explanation. LISA'S ADEM explored how people cope in the vacuum that time can not alter. Material: Dutch (240 pages) and German editions; sample English translation Sales: Veen NL (original publisher); Gustav Kiepenheuer Germany; Norstedts Sweden; Gummerus Finland; Fazi Editore Italy; Pont Hungary.

KAREL G. VAN LOON died in 2005 of a brain tumour. He leaves a wife and three small children and books to be read and reread.

www.karelglastravanloon.nl