100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

🏆Don't forget Father's Day this Sunday! Auckland Bookstore open 8:30am-5:00pm Sat & Sun 🎉

Biography of a Fly

By Jaap Robben
0.0 (0 reviews)
4.14 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 310 ratings, 65 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Biography of a Fly is a beautifully illustrated and philosophical graphic novel by Jaap Robben. Told from the unique perspective of a fly, it explores themes of friendship, existence, and the fleeting nature of life. The story follows the fly from larva to its final moments, offering a charming and witty reflection on how one might embrace life knowing each day is numbered.
Read More
Format: Hardback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock

Sorry, we're currently out of stock of Biography of a Fly. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This thought-provoking and visually engaging book is suitable as a gift for readers of all ages, particularly those who appreciate reflective and heartfelt stories about life's fragility and the bonds we form.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

For readers of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse comes a beautifully illustrated philosophical book on the value of friendship and life, told from the perspective of a fly, and a gift book for all ages.

What if you were thrown into existence in the middle of your life, with numbered days left ahead of you? Would you see the world in the same way? In his inimitable style, Jaap Robben answers these questions through the unexpectedly witty lens of a fly, from the moment it enters the world as a larva right up to its deathbed.

Watch this humble fly throw himself into life and his unlikely friendships with gusto, however short that life may be. Irresistibly charming, funny, and sprinkled with entomological details, this is a moving tale for any stage of life, about how we are all ultimately alone, and yet also together.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781642861242

Publisher: World Editions

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 06 September 2022

Country: United States

Imprint: World Editions

Illustration: Full-page blue and black illustrations throughout

Contributors:

  • Translated by David Doherty
  • Illustrated by Paul Faassen

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 121.0mm

Height: 172.0mm

Weight: 300g

Pages: 64

Collections

Fiction Graphic Novels Jaap Robben

About the Author

Jaap Robben is a poet, playwright, performer, and acclaimed children's author. You Have Me to Love, his first novel for adults, won the 2014 Dutch Booksellers Award, the Dioraphte Prize, and the ANV Award for best Dutch debut. Robben was chosen as one of the featured debut authors at the 2018 Brooklyn Book Festival. Summer Brother, his second novel, was longlisted for the International Booker Prize and received rave reviews in the US upon its release.

David Doherty studied English and literary linguistics in the UK before moving to the Netherlands, where he has been translating all manner of Dutch texts since 1996. He was commended by the jury of the 2017 Vondel Translation Prize for Marente de Moor's The Dutch Maiden and Jaap Robben's You Have Me to Love, and was runner-up in 2019 for his translation of Monte Carlo by Peter Terrin. Jaap Robben's Summer Brother, one of Doherty's most recent translations, was longlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize.

Also by Jaap Robben

View all
  • Afterlight
    Afterlight
    With its tight sentences and a fast pace, Afterlight moves like detective fiction. It's a poignant novel in which a single pregnant woman is mistreated in her conservative society; she remains resilient and determined to honour her baby's memory.' Foreword Reviews The young free-spirited florist Frieda grew up in a strictly Catholic environment in the 1960s. When she steps onto...
    By Jaap Robben
    Paperback
    $5200
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • Summer Brother
    LonGLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2021 In this honest, tender account of brotherly love, thirteen-year-old Brian is tasked with caring for his disabled older brother. Thirteen-year-old Brian lives in a trailer on a forgotten patch of land with his divorced and uncaring father. His older brother Lucien, physically and mentally disabled, has been institutionalised for years. While Lucien's home...
    By Jaap Robben
    Paperback
    $4700
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • You Have Me to Love
    You Have Me to Love is an intense and dramatic novel filled with meticulous use of detail and a forensic psychological accuracy. Its power comes from the fierce energy of the narrative structure, the way of handling silence and pain, and the ability to confront the darkest areas of experience with clear-eyed sympathy and care. Jaap Robben handles delicate, dangerous...
    By Jaap Robben
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Graphic Novels

View all
  • New Release
    Heartstopper Volume 6
    Read it before you see it: Heartstopper Forever movie coming soon from Netflix Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. The final installment in the bestselling LGBTQ+ graphic novel series about life, love, and everything that happens in between. Everyone in school knows Nick and Charlie. Everyone knows they're going to be togetherforever. But Charlie's busy with...
    By Alice Oseman
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Lightfall: A Place Between
    In the fourth installment of the award-winning, critically acclaimed Lightfall series, Bea, Cad, and their friends continue their quest to restore light on their dark world. Perfect for fans of Amulet and Avatar, this next book dives deeper into the magical world of Irpa, where ancient secrets and adventures abound.After surviving a shipwreck on the Fuerre Sea, Cad washes ashore on...
    By Tim Probert
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2699
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    Warriors Graphic Novel: The New Prophecy, Part One of Three
    The next graphic novel adaptation of the blockbuster, New York Times bestselling Warriors series covers the first two novels of the second arc, The New Prophecy (Midnight and Moonrise). The wild cats of the forest have lived in peace for many moons—but when Brambleclaw, a warrior of ThunderClan, receives an ominous prophecy from StarClan that speaks of a mysterious danger, he...
    By Erin Hunter and Gibson Twist
    Paperback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • One Piece (Omnibus Edition), Vol. 1
    One Piece (Omnibus Edition), Vol. 1 by Eiichiro Oda invites readers on an exhilarating journey across the vast and treacherous oceans. Follow the ambitious young pirate, Monkey D. Luffy, and his eclectic crew as they embark on an epic quest to uncover the legendary treasure known as the One Piece, a prize that will crown its possessor as the King...
    By Eiichiro Oda
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2899
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Demon Slayer Complete Box Set
    Contains Volumes 1-23. Full colour. Double-sided Poster and Commemorative Mini-Book. Tanjiro embarks on the perilous path of a Demon Slayer, driven by a mission to save his sister and seek justice for his slain family! In the backdrop of Taisho-era Japan, we meet the compassionate Tanjiro Kamado, a boy who makes a humble living by selling charcoal. However, his tranquil...
    By Koyoharu Gotouge
    Paperback
    $29500
    Elsewhere:
    $41000
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat
    In this hilarious full-colour graphic novel, Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat by Li Chen, readers are introduced to Cat Town's best kitten detective on a new and exciting adventure. When Detective Beans realises his favourite hat has gone missing, he quickly jumps into action to crack the case. Armed with his wit, determination, and a love...
    By Li Chen
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2200
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    11% off
    One Piece Box Set 1: East Blue and Baroque Works
    A premium box set of the first two story arcs of One Piece, one of the most beloved and bestselling manga series of all time! As a child, Monkey D. Luffy dreamed of becoming King of the Pirates. His life took a dramatic turn when he accidentally consumed the Gum-Gum Fruit, an enchanted Devil Fruit that granted him the incredible...
    By Eiichiro Oda
    Paperback
    $28000
    Elsewhere:
    $41000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    14% off
    MrBallen Presents: Where Nightmares Live
    From the New York Times bestselling author and creator of the hit MrBallen Podcast and YouTube channel comes a vividly illustrated graphic novel featuring nine spine-chilling stories, based on real events, of the horror that lurks within the unknown. In MrBallen Presents: Where Nightmares Live, John Allen, known popularly as MrBallen, returns with another heart-stopping collection of strange and mysterious...
    By Robert Venditti and MrBallen
    Hardback
    $3800
    Elsewhere:
    $5500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1
    Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1 by Gege Akutami introduces readers to the gripping world of jujutsu sorcery and supernatural battles. This first volume sets the stage for an explosive adventure that intertwines the fate of humans and cursed spirits. In a world where cursed spirits, malevolent entities born from human negative emotions, prey on the unsuspecting, fragments of the legendary demon...
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2099
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    10% off
    My Hero Academia Box Set 1
    Midoriya inherits the superpower of the world’s greatest hero, but greatness won’t come easy. Collect the first 20 volumes of the bestselling My Hero Academia manga in this heroic box set! Also includes a full-colour double-sided poster and an exclusive 48-page booklet featuring the never-before-seen bonus illustrations and author commentary printed on volume 1–20’s book covers in Japan!
    Paperback
    $23300
    Elsewhere:
    $35500
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Fourth Wing The Graphic Novel: Volume One
    Pre-order
    Fourth Wing The Graphic Novel: Volume One
    The first volume of a stunning graphic novel edition of the no. 1 Sunday Times phenomenon, Fourth Wing, adapted by Rebecca Yarros herself!   This deluxe hardcover edition features a shimmering metallic, foil-stamped cover design, plus an exclusive art print of Violet and Xaden's first kiss, packaged in a stylish slipcase.  Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders as...
    By Rebecca Yarros
    Slipcase Hardback
    $11000
    Elsewhere:
    $12000
    Pre-order
    Out 6 Apr 2027
  • Kagurabachi, Vol. 6
    Chihiro's cursed past sends him down a quest of bloody vengeance! Chihiro Rokuhira’s father, Kunishige, is the most famous swordsmith in the land. Thanks to his six enchanted blades, the war that has been gripping the nation ends, and peaceful days follow. After the war, he retrieves all six blades and hides them in the cellar of his workshop—but sorcerers...
    By Takeru Hokazono
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2099
    In Stock
    Ships Monday

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

Graphic Novels lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all