The family weekend
Since my mother died, I had hardly been to the farm. Everyone had gone their own way and I had only seen the others now and then. We were like a puzzle whose pieces had fallen apart when the box broke. It had saddened me and I had not been able to explain it properly, but I had also not known how to turn the tide and that was why I was happy with Annet's initiative. But still, there was something that bothered me. Something that bothered me. That she had come up with this like that, without consultation, without introduction. After the death of their mother, the contact between Eefje and her brothers and sisters fades. In order to reconnect, Annet, her eldest sister, organizes a family weekend. During the weekend, memories of what used to happen at their home come flooding back. Events that they had never talked about, because their mother did not want them to. During the weekend, they cannot avoid talking about it. They discover that much more happened than they knew. Everyone has their own experiences and when the stories come together, they are surprised to find that everything is very different from what they had always thought. It also becomes clear why mother has been silent for all those years. And Eefje? What happened to her? Klaske Bakker unravels the family history in an exciting and ingenious way. A wonderful book, fluently written, with a dynamic between brothers and sisters that many will undoubtedly recognize. Klaske Bakker lives in the Betuwe, is married and has two sons. Her debut, the collection of stories Blauwe tongen (Blue tongues), was published in 2016. Het familieweekend (The family weekend) is her first novel. www.klaske-bakker.nl