Signs from the Universe
While recording a documentary series in Canada, Emy and her Quebecois fixer find themselves sharing a hotel room during a heavy snowstorm. They’re attracted to each other but hold back as they both have partners. Nevertheless, when they decide to keep in touch from their respective countries, they soon become ensnared in an emotional affair that spirals out of control, forcing Emy to confront her relationship with love and desire.
Signs from the Universe is an intimate and elegant account of the author’s descent into the ‘disease’ of romantic obsession, as well as a meditative and fearless dissection of the personal history leading her there.
Combining memoir and essay, Koopman interweaves her story with reflections on love, literature, philosophy and art to reflect on the ways in which we diminish and lose ourselves in love. With a sharp sense for suspense, she explores the pain and allure of transgression – and the struggle between restraining oneself and letting go.
“The author, who made her debut with Orewoet in 2016, is among the most promising in the Netherlands. […] Signs from the Universe is a courageous book because Koopman rarely shies away from showing the flaws and rambling thought processes of her characters, especially of ‘Emy’.”
