Gerbrand Bakker

Multi-award winning Dutch author Gerbrand Bakker's phenomenal new novel about grief and the unavoidable power of family ties. Simon never knew his father, Cornelis. When his wife told him she was pregnant, Cornelis packed his bags, and a day later he was dead. Or everyone assumed he was dead; after all, he was on the passenger list of the KLM...

A visit from the Queen, a tragic accident, a divided family — a masterful new novel from the prize-winning Gerbrand Bakker. On a hot summer's day in June 1969, everyone is gathered to welcome Queen Juliana. The young boys and girls wave their flags enthusiastically. But just as the monarch is getting into her car to leave, little Hanne Kaan...

"He had never seen her like that before. Awesomely beautiful, like a tree or bush that produces as much blossom or as many flowers as possible the year before it dies." A woman abandons her home in Holland without a word, leaving behind an impervious husband, mystified parents, and an unfinished thesis on reclusive poet Emily Dickinson. Across the sea...