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We Are Light

By Gerda Blees
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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
Winner of the 2021 European Union Literature Prize, We Are Light tells the haunting story of Elisabeth, the oldest resident of the Sound & Love Commune, who starves to death after her roommates encourage her to live on light and love alone. Set over the course of a summer night, the novel explores differing perspectives on Elisabeth's death—from her sister Melodie, their housemates, neighbours, and even intangible elements, revealing complex questions of blame, idealism, and the commune’s uncertain future.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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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 novel will appeal to readers who enjoy thought-provoking literary fiction that delves into themes of manipulation, vulnerability, and human idealism. Fans of multi-perspective narratives and socially reflective stories will find We Are Light particularly engaging.

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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

Winner of the 2021 European Union Literature Prize

One apartment, three women, one man. One of the women is dead. When the emergency personnel arrive, they realise: Elisabeth starved to death, encouraged by her roommates.

In the middle of a summer night, Elisabeth, the oldest resident of the Sound & Love Commune, dies. Her sister Melodie and their two other housemates are arrested: the group's attempts to stop eating and start living on light and love alone appears to have been fatal to Elisabeth. From unworldly idealists on the fringes of society, the three suddenly become suspects in a criminal case. Through the eyes of the night, the neighbours, doubt, the scent of an orange, and many other characters and entities, we see how each of those involved gives a different answer to the question of how Elisabeth came to die. Who is to blame? And does the commune still have a future?

We Are Light is a highly original and entertaining novel about manipulation, vulnerability, and trying to be better.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781642861273

Publisher: World Editions

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 August 2023

Country: United States

Imprint: World Editions

Illustration: Illustrations

Contributors:

  • Translated by Michele Hutchison

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 127.0mm

Height: 203.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 240

Collections

Crime & Thriller Fiction General Fiction Gerda Blees Literary Fiction

About the Author

Gerda Blees is a Dutch author and poet. She taught at various universities for several years while doing linguistic research on Dutch-German lingua receptiva - conversations in which each person speaks their own language. We Are Light, Blees's debut novel, won the EU Literature Prize as well as the prestigious Dutch Booksellers Award in 2021. It was also shortlisted for the Libris Literature Award. The author recently completed a bachelor's degree in fine arts at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam while living with her family in Woerden.

Michele Hutchison studied at UEA, Cambridge, and Lyon universities and worked in publishing for a number of years. In 2004, she moved to Amsterdam. Among the many works she has translated are La Superba by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Slaves to Fortune by Tom Lanoye, both Craving and Roxy by Esther Gerritsen, and Stadium IV by Sander Kollaard, for which she received the Vondel Translation Prize 2020. In the same year, her translation of Marieke Lucas Rijneveld's novel The Discomfort of Evening was awarded the International Booker Prize. She also co-authored the successful parenting book, The Happiest Kids in the World.

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