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Elisabeth is dying. Coco jumps at this chance to prove her love, and promptly moves in with her deteriorating mother. A venture that quickly sends both parties spiraling out of control. Alongside a supporting cast of ex-bosses, ex-husbands, and (soon to be ex) boyfriends, the two women attempt to work through the annals of their dark yet often wildly humorous relationships. Psychologically astute and eye-poppingly candid, this is a tale about both excess and denial in which some things perhaps would have been better left unspoken. Sometimes the only person who understands you in this world is your hairdresser.
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Praise for Craving
‘Cool, sparse, and delicious, Esther Gerritsen’s Craving hits all the right notes. This is an author who is unafraid of both complex characters and complex emotion (Thank God!)’
ALICE SEBOLD, author of The Lovely Bones
‘With its deceptively simple yet extraordinary language and its sophisticated humor, Craving is a small gem among recent Dutch literature’
HERMAN KOCH, author of The Dinner
‘Gerritsen shows an almost surgical ability to slice to the bare nerves of difficult human relationships. Elegiac, beautiful and very strong, it’s a novel you devour in one sitting, drawn into the vortex as the inevitable ending spins nearer’
Daily Mail
‘Unprejudiced and fearless in her associations, Gerritsen investigates the shadows of the human mind, meticulously, and with an eye for the beauty in the detail. Gerritsen’s clear and light prose belongs to a new wave of literature from writers striving to capture human discomfort without melodrama, and to my mind, of these writers, Gerritsen is the most inventive’
Trouw
‘Esther Gerritsen´s characters have their own, extremely unique way, of viewing the world’
Vogue (Netherlands)
‘Funny, moving and memorable, Craving is a wryly observed novel about family, human frailties and how relationships fracture’
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL
‘Craving is a harrowing story about the impossibility of loving and truly making contact with others, written so drily and pointedly that you regularly laugh out loud as you read. Esther Gerritsen excels at writing fast, humorous dialogue’
DUTCH FOUNDATION FOR LITERATURE
‘Interpersonal communication is an inexhaustible theme, which she has so far managed to develop with great dramatic and indeed great comic ingenuity’
NRC Handelsblad
‘Not only in her choice of subjects but also in her feeling for style, Gerritsen is one of a kind. Her absurdist logic and subtle humoristic voice make every sentence in her novels and columns a “typical Gerritsen”’
JURY, FRANS KELLENDONK PRIZE
‘Gerritsen writes with style, wit and a sharpness that is eye-wateringly good. Her characters, whilst unsympathetic and very flawed are quite compelling to get to know’
Random Things Through My Letterbox
‘Witty, sharp-toothed and dysfunctional, Craving is a darkly comic portrayal of a mother-daughter relationship. A fascinating, darkly amusing novel; Gerritsen writes with a calm and open hand’
Volume Books
‘Gerritsen succeeds in constantly surprising the reader, right down to the final scene’
Cobra
‘A writing style that grabs you by the throat: clear, rhythmical, humorous and sometimes deeply affecting in its rendition of the characters’ trains of thought. Gerritsen scatters sentences that smuggle in the poetry in a seemingly careless way. She writes sharp dialogues that are at once hilarious and painful; and in doing so she touches places many authors can’t reach’
De Volkskrant
‘Craving is a razor-sharp psychological duet, with the mother’s deathbed as the apotheosis. Played out through minor incidents, Gerritsen performs a grand drama full of absurd and grotesque twists’
LIBRIS LITERATURE PRIZE
‘Esther Gerritsen’s writing is probing, yet she puts into perspective the radical quests of her characters. This writer has a great talent for continuing to ask and to search, and prefers doubting wholeheartedly to knowing for sure’
JURY REPORT, DIF/BGN PRIZE
‘The psychological context is beautifully worked out and the story creeps under your skin. Craving is written in an oppressive, dark and brilliantly turbulent way; it’s a novel that stays with you and keeps on reverberating. You’ll long for more: more Gerritsen, more of her writing style and more of that mystique she creates. Hats off!’
TESSA HEITMEIJER
‘Craving is exceptional. By far the best book I have read in years. Stifling and comical at the same time’
VPRO
‘The finale is moving and beautiful. It ensures that, as a reader, you are glued to the edge of your chair. This is a story that touches the very depths of your soul’
Leesfanaten
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ESTHER GERRITSEN (1972) is a novelist, columnist, and scriptwriter. She made her literary debut in 2000. She is one of the most established, widely read, and highly praised authors in the Netherlands. Gerritsen had the honor of writing the Dutch Book Week gift in 2016, which had a print-run of 700,000 copies. In 2014 she was awarded the Frans Kellendonk Prize for her oeuvre. Craving was shortlisted for the Vondel Prize, and has recently been made into a Dutch film under its original title, Dorst.
MICHELE HUTCHISON studied at UEA, Cambridge and Lyon universities and worked in publishing for a number of years. In 2004, she moved to Amsterdam. Among the many works she has translated are La Superba by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Fortunate Slaves by Tom Lanoye, Roxy by Esther Gerritsen and An American Princess by Annejet van der Zijl. She also co-authored the successful parenting book, The Happiest Kids in the World.
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AUTHOR
‘I don’t like pronouncements like “The dividing line between truth and illusion is wafer-thin,” or “There is no such thing as good and evil”. Good and evil do exist, and madness crosses into an often horrifying and painful no man’s land. But I also understand that people are confused; I am confused myself and all I am trying to do is to investigate how many different ways there are to make us feel so.’
TRANSLATOR
‘Craving is raw and intriguing, a tale of unsatisfied needs and desires and complicated familial relationships. The language is fresh and naturalistic, which made the book a joy to translate. As harrowing as Coco’s story is, it will ring true with readers who, too, crave love, food, sex or escape.’
PUBLISHER
‘Gerritsen confronts you with the human incapacity to truly communicate and understand each other. Her characters are driven by irrational and at times destructive forces and desires. They stay with you long after you have finished reading. Her work belongs to the best writing The Netherlands has to offer.’
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Esther
Gerritsen
craving
Translated from the Dutch by
Michele Hutchison
WORLD EDITIONS
New York, London, Amsterdam
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Published in the USA in 2018 by World Editions LLC, New York
Published