Untitled - Uitgeverij Cossee

Mariëtte Haveman - The Women CatcherPassers-by gasp when they stumble upon the old mansion in the middle of the woods not farfrom the Dutch border with Germany. In the summer this is the most beautiful place on earthbut for Gerhardt and Marianne Lehmann and their daughter Lola the winters can get lonely inthis huge, draughty home, far from the civilized world.One day a man on a cycling holiday with his wife and small son strikes up a conversation withthe Lehmanns. The next weekend Markus – civil, ecologically aware, good-looking, acompelling presence – shows an interest in sharing the rent for the house. During the thirdencounter the two families drink to a shared future.Soon Markus and Anna are keen to upgrade the house and kitchen garden, both in dire needof refurbishment. Gerhardt and Marianne, more occupied by books and music, are delightedby all the fresh activity, but their happiness doesn’t last long.Nominated for:Libris Literature Prize 2011ENGLISH SAMPLETRANSLATION AVAILABLEWith breathtaking precision Mariëtte Haveman probes the subtle shifts in the balance ofpower – leading to terror and violence – that occur in the name of ideals. She explores thetemptation to yield to a charismatic leader and submit to paranoid schemes which grow outof the simple desire for home-grown food, homemade clothing, minimizing waste andteaching the children endurance in the face of hardship. But why are the women in particularso persistent in holding on to this so-called better life, even if it means abandoning theirchildren? In the years to come this painful question continues to haunt Lola.‘A very powerful thriller’ – Margriet‘Mariëtte Haveman writes sentences to love, sentences a reader would write in their diary. Her language is rich and herobservations of human life are precise and true’ – Nederlands DagbladAuthor: Mariëtte HavemanTitle: The Women Catcher (fiction)Original title: De vrouwenvangerPublished: 2010Size: 256 pages / 80.000 words