Giovanna's Navel

by Ernest van der Kwast, Laura Vroomen (Translator)

Overview

A scintillating collection from the award-winning author of The Ice-Cream Makers and Mama Tandoori.

The vivid characters in these stories share lives marked by coincidences, deeply felt passions, impulsive decisions, and missed opportunities. There’s Ezio, a lonely apple-picker dangerously obsessed with spirited teenager Giovanna. Heinrich is a quiet ticket inspector who watches his passengers live their lives as he longs for a meaningful connection of his own. Klaus is a young man reflecting on his first unrequited love, Eva. And Paul’s experiences of loss bring him to a new life.

As they look back and narrate their histories, each reflects on the circuitous paths that life took them, and on the relationships that never came to pass.

Melancholic yet tender, these beautifully rendered atmospheric stories explore loss, longing, coming of age, and regret, and speak to the humanity in all of us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781950354047
Publisher:	Scribe Us
Publication date:	05/18/2019
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.75(h) x (d)

About the Author

Ernest van der Kwast is a Dutch author born in Mumbai, India, in 1981. He made his debut in 2005 with the novel Sometimes Things Are Better When People Applaud. His breakthrough book is Mama Tandoori, which became a bestseller in the Netherlands and Italy upon publication, and has to date sold more than 100,000 copies. Giovanna's Navel is the third of his books to be published in English. He lives in Rotterdam.

Laura Vroomen was born in the Netherlands and now lives and works in London. She was educated at the University of Amsterdam and Warwick University, and spent several years teaching English literature and cultural studies before switching to translation.

Editorial Reviews

“Ernest van der Kwast is a shameless romantic, I loved his stories.”

—Tommy Wieringa, author of A Beautiful Young Wife

“In a new short story collection by Ernest Van Der Kwast, Giovanna's Navel, we meet a range of characters whose stories share lives marked by coincidences, deeply felt passions, impulsive decisions and missed opportunities.”

—Good Reading

Praise for The Ice-Cream Makers

“A compelling novel about the yoke of family relations.”

—Elle

“Van der Kwast tells his multigenerational tale with great sensitivity…A delightful read.”

—Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Mama Tandoori:

“The funniest and most moving book I have read this year.”

—Herman Koch, author of The Dinner

From the Publisher

'In a new short story collection by Ernest Van Der Kwast, Giovanna's Navel , we meet a range of characters whose stories share lives marked by coincidences, deeply felt passions, impulsive decisions and missed opportunities.’

Good Reading

‘Ernest van der Kwast is a shameless romantic, I loved his stories.’

Tommy Wieringa