Thirty Days. Annelies Verbeke

‘Verbeke has written a bold, busy, textured novel. Read it once and you may well read it twice.’—The Irish Times With a sharp and observational eye, Annelies Verbeke takes a funny, imaginative and perceptive look at the realities and absurdities of human interactions, relationships and everyday life. Verbeke matches poetic prose with a cast of intriguing characters and unexpected plot twists. Our protagonist is Alphonse, a Senegalese immigrant who uproots his life in Brussels to become a handyman in a rural district in Flanders. Likeable and charismatic, people cannot help but reveal their secrets, desires and unexpected dreams to him. In her typically astute style, Verbeke weaves a vivid and thought-provoking tale of contemporary life, subtly touching upon timely themes such as refugees and racism. Thirty Days is a deeply moving story about love, outsiders and the human need to connect, compellingly translated from the Dutch by Liz Waters.