Marieke Lucas Rijneveld

Marieke Lucas Rijneveld (b. 1991) is considered one of the greatest new talents in Dutch literature. In 2015, they debuted with the poetry collection Kalfsvlies (Calf’s Caul), which was awarded the C. Buddingh’ Prize for best poetry debut and will soon be published in a Spanish translation. Their second collection of poetry, Fantoommerrie (Phantomare), was published in 2019 and won the Ida Gerhardt Poetry Prize. Rijneveld’s debut novel The Discomfort of Evening (2018) garnered exceptional praise and went on to sell more than 160,000 copies. It was awarded the International Booker Prize 2020. Translations are due to appear in 37 countries.

The Discomfort of Evening

(Atlas Contact, 2018, 272 pages)

In this fine debut novel, Marieke Lucas Rijneveld forces us to look at exactly what is seen, felt and tasted, not from a distancing helicopter perspective, but from close up, breathtakingly close up. The Discomfort of Evening takes the reader into an oppressive and repulsive world where detail is what matters.

My Heavenly Favourite

(Atlas Contact, 2020, 368 pages)

Marieke Lucas Rijneveld’s second novel tells the story of a forbidden love. An aging livestock veterinarian and a fourteen-year-old girl with a vivid imagination engage in a macabre dance as they explore their identity and sexuality. The novel is gruesome, intense and makes for deeply uncomfortable reading, but it is also moving, captivating, addictive – unputdownable.