Bibliography: fiction books

1. Through You, Aspekt Publishers, 2026 (in Dutch).
Also published in English.

The novel takes as its motto a quotation from the All That I Am by Anna Funder:
It is our loves that we remember best at the end of our lives, because they shaped us. We have become who we are by growing around them, as if around a stick.

This idea lies at the heart of the novel. Its protagonist, a shy and insecure girl, gradually develops — despite difficult circumstances, several relationships and a failed marriage — into a celebrated artist.
The story is set in a variety of locations, including the Green Heart of Holland, The Hague, Northumberland in England, Kenya, and San Isidro, a suburb of Buenos Aires. Several narrative threads converge towards the end of the novel. In San Isidro, the protagonist meets the priest who would later become Pope Francis.

2. Siberian Lessons on Life, Love and Death, Aspekt Publishers, 2013 (in Dutch). Also published in:
English, Aspekt Publishers, 2013.
Bulgarian, Kibea Publishing, 2012

Imagine this: the abbot of a monastery in Siberia wishes to answer life’s questions for a wider audience and decides to travel from Moscow to Vladivostok across the vastness of Russia. Looking for a suitable travelling companion, he finds one in a young English physicist. Together they set out on a journey that becomes not only a voyage across Siberia, but also a journey of personal discovery and inner growth, leading ultimately to a dramatic conclusion.

Along the way, they stop in different towns and settlements where the abbot answers questions from believers. When should you end a relationship, and when should you persevere? What makes a marriage endure? Why do so many people fail to fulfil their talents? What should you say to your children when the end of your life approaches?

"The book changed my life", is a response I often received from readers. 
And it's read at a young age too – at least by my granddaughter!