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Bonita Avenue
Peter Buwalda
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Description for Bonita Avenue
Paperback. Translator(s): Reeder, Jonathan. Num Pages: 544 pages. BIC Classification: FA; FYT. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 130 x 198 x 35. Weight in Grams: 436.
A darkly hilarious tale of a model family's disintegration. Professor Siem Sigerius - maths genius, jazz lover, judo champion, Renaissance man. When Aaron meets his girlfriend Joni's family for the first time, her multitalented father could hardly be a more intimidating figure, but somehow the underachieving photographer manages to bluff his way to a friendship with the paterfamilias. With his feet under the table at the beautiful Sigerius farmhouse, Aaron feels part of the family. A perfect family. Until, that is, things start to go wrong ... Read morein a very big way. A cataclysmic explosion in a firework factory, the advent of internet pornography, the reappearance of a forgotten murderer and a jet-black wig-all play a role in the spectacular fragmentation of the Sigerius clan... and of Aaron's fragile psyche. 'One wild ride: a swirling helix of a family saga...a new writer as toe-curling as early Roth, as roomy as Franzen and as caustic as Houellebecq. Don't let me forget to mention Jonathan Reeder's note-perfect English translation.' Anthony Cummins, Sunday Telegraph, 5-stars 'Dutch bestseller about internet porn lives up to hype....a considerable achievement for a seasoned writer, much less a newcomer...' James Kidd, Independent 'Fluent and complex, uncompromising and occasionally shocking...' Daily Mail 'Buwalda writes with ferocious dexterity... Bonita Avenue is a family epic seething with learning and regret, the kind with which commuting becomes a pleasure.' New Statesman 'A brilliantly constructed story, with complex characters tested to the limit' The Lady 'One of the first great European novels of the 21st century' Foyles Bookshop interview with author Highly, highly recommended reading.Savidge Reads If I had to choose one first novel, it would be the addictive bedlam of Bonita Avenue... deserves to be a book, not just a debut, of the year' Independent Books of the Year 'Dripping with sex and bursting with comedy... in a plot of fiendish ingenuity. Buwalda has a cold eye for the hilarity of human disaster that would make Evelyn Waugh blanch. Read this book, love it, and try to ignore the twisting in your gut.' Booktrust 'Great European art: the Dutchman Peter Buwalda explodes the bourgeois family saga. The narrative pyrotechnics alone are a tour de force.' Die Zeit Born in Brussels in 1971, Peter Buwalda is a Dutch novelist, formerly a journalist, editor at several publishers, and founder of the literary music magazine Wah-Wah. Bonita Avenue is his debut novel. Published in 2010 to critical acclaim, it was shortlisted for twelve prizes, going on to win the Academica Prize, the Selexyz Debut Prize, the Tzum Prize, the Anton Wachter Prize and the Leesclubboek van het jaar. It spent two years on the bestseller lists, and has since been translated into seven languages. Bonita Avenue is a suspenseful, incendiary and unpredictable debut-of relationships torn apart by lies, and minds destroyed by madness. Show Less
Product Details
Place of Publication
London, United Kingdom
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About Peter Buwalda
Born in Brussels in 1971, Peter Buwalda is a Dutch novelist, formerly a journalist, editor at several publishers, and founder of the literary music magazine Wah-Wah. Bonita Avenue is his debut novel. Published in 2010 to critical acclaim, it was shortlisted for twelve prizes, going on to win the Academica Prize, the Selexyz Debut Prize, the Tzum Prize, the Anton ... Read moreWachter Prize and the Leesclubboek van het jaar. It spent two years on the bestseller lists, and has since been translated into seven languages. Show Less
Reviews for Bonita Avenue
An instant literary classic, loaded with suspense
Herman Koch, author of The Dinner [A] dazzling family saga... [Buwalda's] brilliance is unique
Kate Saunders The Times One wild ride: a swirling helix of a family saga...a new writer as toe-curling as early Roth, as roomy as Franzen and as caustic as Houellebecq.
Anthony Cummins Sunday Telegraph, Best Novels ... Read moreand Fiction Books of 2014 Fluent and complex, uncompromising and occasionally shocking... Daily Mail Deftly constructed, dark, disturbing and sharply funny, Bonita Avenue is a masterpiece of characterisation and one of the first great European novels of the 21st century Foyles, Best Fiction of 2014 If I had to choose one first novel, it would be the addictive bedlam of Bonita Avenue... [It] deserves to be a book, not just a debut, of the year
James Kidd Independent, Best Debuts of the Year Buwalda writes with ferocious dexterity... Bonita Avenue is a family epic seething with learning and regret, the kind with which commuting becomes a pleasure. New Statesman Dripping with sex and bursting with comedy... in a plot of fiendish ingenuity. Buwalda has a cold eye for the hilarity of human disaster that would make Evelyn Waugh blanch. Read this book, love it, and try to ignore the twisting in your gut Booktrust Buwalda's magnificent first novel offers proofof Tolstoy's dictum that 'every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way' Publishers Weekly (starred review) A brilliantly constructed story, with complex characters tested to the limit The Lady Highly, highly recommended reading Savidge Reads Dutch bestseller about internet porn lives up to hype... a considerable achievement for a seasoned writer, much less a newcomer.
James Kidd Independent The Dutch answer to Jonathan Franzen NRC Handelsblad Great European art: the Dutchman Peter Buwalda explodes the bourgeois family saga: the narrative pyrotechnics alone are a tour de force Die Zeit Peter Buwalda's impressive family saga is a genuine page-turner, with a forceful, precise style. The author races with unstoppable speed towards the finish, without getting entangled in the numerous gripping narrative strands, without even steering out of the curve. Libris-Prize Jury Report, 2011 Buwalda's debut novel [is] daring in its linguistic power and freedom, and impressive, even frightening, in its psychological sharpness and precision ... great and outrageous. Frankfurter Rundschau A literary sensation. Bonita Avenue is no less than a phenomenal masterpiece tip berlin Extraordinarily gripping. A dream debut HP/De Tijd The plot orchestration and lively character renderings of Bonita Avenue are dazzling The New York Times Book Review A robust dark farce ...Whatever literary benchmark you use, the book's hyperbolic excess and willingness to plunge recklessly to the depths are what make it work The New York Times Book Review A bold and assured debut, Bonita Avenue deftly alternates between narrators and settings to keep readers morally unsettled and in suspense... both sprawling and meticulously constructed... a satisfying, psychologically nuanced read Huffington Post It's a fantastic debut which, at over 500pages, doesn't outstay its welcome Glasgow Herald Buwalda's debut...becomes increasingly compulsivereading as it nears its dark close...This tumultuous saga of a family breakingdown...is an international bestseller and award winner. A significant literaryachievement Booklist, (starred review) This award-winning debut novel is flat-outextraordinary. The rich layer of detail would be impressive if applied to onetopic, but Buwalda creates multiple complex worlds around vastly differentsubjects... An outstanding literary suspense story that will appeal to a widerange of readers Library Journal, starred review Dazzling... [A] giddily twisting family drama Penthouse Show Less
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