Ibiza, the 1980s. Marianne’s father is serving a prison sentence, and her relationship with her hippie mother is strained. One rainy afternoon, when her motorcycle breaks down, she accepts a lift from two members of the feared and hated Guardia Civil. Marianne is deeply impressed by one of them.
As her father's villa is dismantled and her mother becomes increasingly irrational, her fascination spirals into obsession. In a haze of alcohol and drugs, she teeters on the edge, risking not only her own downfall but also that of those around her.
A sweeping story of growing up, loneliness, obsession, and addiction on the island that captivates everyone’s imagination: Ibiza.
After Valentine - English
translation on its way!
Stille mensen - Silent People
When young, homeless Nicky accidentally ends up in an enormous squat called Pandemonium, life finally seems to smile upon her. She immediately feels at home in the picturesque rooms and the monumental courtyard and gets to know the resident groups that form a micro-society: hippies, fratboys, punks, artists, and intellectuals. Their relatively peaceful coexistence is violently disrupted when a party ends in a demolition spree by a group of neo-Nazis. Under the leadership of the charismatic Harm, the building is restored to its former glory. However, when some residents decide to expel a group of suspected junkies under suspicious circumstances, Nicky realizes that secret agendas are at play with far-reaching consequences. Pandemonium has become a human bomb on the verge of exploding.
Stille mensen is an exceptional novel about the intoxication of group euphoria and the end of individual thought. Esther J. Ending firmly establishes herself with this chilling, yet simultaneously thrilling and atmospheric novel.
Rain, the daughter of hippie parents, grew up in Spain with her half-brothers, Storm and Forest, her twin brother, Ocean, and her half-sister, Pillow. As teenagers, Rain and the other children, neglected and abused, left their parents to build new lives in the Netherlands. Storm loses himself in numerous sexual affairs, including one with Rain. While Forest appears to lead a normal life, Pillow turns to alcohol for solace. Ocean becomes ensnared in psychosis and spirals downward. On Valentine’s Day, Pillow believes she sees Ocean’s spirit on her couch, leading Rain to suspect something more sinister must have happened to her twin brother. This launches a quest with profound consequences.
Na Valentijn is a dramatic yet darkly humorous story about five young adults, each struggling with their past in their own way—and linked by a secret that will bind them for life. The affection with which Ending portrays her characters makes Na Valentijn unforgettable.
