We spoke to the author and translator about their experience of working on the novel together, Dutch literature, and why translated fiction is not a monolith
Jente Posthuma
Jente Posthuma is a Dutch writer whose prose is razor-sharp, deliberately laconic, and often absurdly funny
Her critically acclaimed first novel Mensen zonder uitstraling (People Without Charisma) was published in 2016 and nominated for the Dioraphte Literatour Prize, the Hebban Debut Prize, and the ANV Debut Prize. Her second novel, Waar ik liever niet aan denk, was published in 2020 and shortlisted for the European Union Prize for Literature. The English-language translation by Sarah Timmer Harvey, What I’d Rather Not Think About, was published by Scribe in 2023 and was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2024. Posthuma’s third book Heks! Heks! Heks! (Witch! Witch! Witch!), also published in 2023, is an idiosyncratic and witty retelling of three ancient Dutch sagas. Posthuma lives in Amsterdam.
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All nominated books
A deeply moving exploration of grief, told in brief, precise vignettes and full of gentle melancholy and surprising humour
