A tense and yet highly amusing novel about small people in a big world, and their common but catastrophic desire to believe in higher ideals.  -  Impressive award-winning debut novel
 
Four members of a commune stop eating because from now on they want to live on light and air. Each character has its own reasons for this extreme decision, which ends up costing the protagonist, Elisabeth, her life. And each of the 25 chapters opens with the words ‘We are…’ and is told by a different narrator: from Elisabeth’s parents and siblings, the neighbors and her sister’s lawyer to the night, the daily bread, the scent of an orange, dementia, doubt, and Elisabeth’s own body. Each narrator has a unique and distinct voice and makes an essential contribution to the novel’s complex tapestry.

NOMINATED FOR THE LIBRIS LITERATURE PRIZE
WINNER OF THE EU LITERATURE PRIZE & DUTCH BOOKSELLERS
 
"An ingenious and highly original composition." ―Jury, Libris Literature Prize
"Convincingly, Gerda Blees finds her meticulously narrated way through the mine field of fashionable trends." ―Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
 

One day, browsing the stands at a garage sale, two lovers Melisande and Guillaume’s gaze fall upon a strange painting. In the foreground, they see a serene Chinese woman, while in the background they spot a couple who could easily be themselves but much older. How can such a coincidence be possible? Or is there something more to it? To unravel the mysteries, the two lovers set off on a great journey through China. They don't yet imagine all of the secrets that the painting is hiding and how much their life will change. 

A contemporary love story, faithfully reproduced in a historical painting, directly leads a couple on a mysterious journey into the heart of China.

• Winner of the 2020 Authors Words Award
• Finalist of the 2019 Romantic Book Award
• Finalist of the 2021 Lions Literature Award

Babinsky has a gift. A gift from heaven. He aims and shoots like no one else. Taken in by a professional criminal in the orphanage where he grew up, he becomes a contract killer in spite of himself. But beware! He might be a hitman, but he is also a humanist who has made it his job to make his future victims happy before he kills them.

Babinsky is a hitman.
A hitman, yes, but he is also a humanist who has made it his job to make his future victims happy before he kills them.