The Discomfort of Evening

De: Marieke Lucas Rijneveld

Narrado por: Genevieve Gaunt

Winner of the International Booker Prize 2020

I asked God if he please couldn't take my brother, Matthies, instead of my rabbit. 'Amen.'

Ten-year-old Jas has a unique way of experiencing her universe: the feeling of udder ointment on her skin as protection against harsh winters; the texture of green warts, like capers, on migrating toads; the sound of 'blush words' that aren't in the Bible. But when a tragic accident ruptures the family, her curiosity warps into a vortex of increasingly disturbing fantasies - unlocking a darkness that threatens to derail them all.

A best-selling sensation in the Netherlands, Marieke Lucas Rijneveld's radical debut novel is studded with images of wild, violent beauty: a world of language unlike any other, exquisitely captured in Michele Hutchison's translation.

©2018, 2020 Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, translated by Michele Hutchison (P)2020 Audible, Ltd

Not easy to forget. Like a kick in the stomach.

Well written. Reminds us how crude and banal human beings can be. And still feel and get sad and frightened. I will ponder this for a long time to come.

Funny and Uncomfortable

Narrated through the innocent voice of 10 year old Jos, "The Discomfort of Evening" by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld set on a Dutch farm, explore how a girl and her parents in a very religious community deals with the death of her younger brother on a skiing accident, life on a farm, poverty, poor digestion, and the pleasures of an awakening sexuality. The audiobook is both funny and uncomfortable. A very unusual story.

Bucolic, grotesque, innocent and claustrophobic

As much as I enjoyed the ride, this book was not an easy journey. A child-like narrative about death, awkwardness, violence and hope that is as beautiful as it is disgusting.

Original and different

This is a well-read story, reflecting on a reformed Dutch girl who has to deal with loss, Unguided she experiences soothing according to the different phases of development, as described by Freud. (No reference to the latter. Subjective interpretation). The merging of explicitness and innocence provides a unique reflection on the devastating effect of a family shattered by mourning.