The Blessed Rita
the new novel from the bestselling Booker International longlisted Dutch author
by Tommy Wieringa
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Mar 03 2020 | Archive Date Mar 31 2020
Scribe UK | Scribe
Talking about this book? Use #TheBlessedRita #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
‘He had seen more and more people from the East in recent years. Mostly gypsies, people said. Bulgarians, Romanians — you could tell by the plates on the vans and the trailers. The Poles had been around for some time already. Burglaries, thefts. The blessings of the new Europe.’
Paul Krüzen lives with his father in an old farmhouse, not far from the German border. Where once his father took care of him, now he takes care of his father. It has been a long time since his beautiful, worldly-wise mother left them for the arms of a Russian pilot, never once looking back.
Paul’s world is changing: his small Dutch village is now home to Chinese restaurateurs, Polish plumbers, and Russian thugs. Saint Rita, the patron saint of lost causes, watches over Paul and his best friend Hedwiges, two misfits at odds with the modern world, while Paul takes comfort in his own Blessed Rita, a prostitute from Quezon. But even she cannot protect them from the tragedy that is about to unfold.
In this sharply observed, darkly funny novel, Wieringa shines a light on people struggling at the margins of a changing world. The Blessed Rita is an affecting tribute to those left behind and an ode to those wanting to transcend themselves and their heritage.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
‘A tale of people who have been left behind because they are not going anywhere, told with bitter humour … The Blessed Rita reveals just how much we have in common.’
David Mills , The Sunday Times
‘With a good eye for remarkable stories and sharp dialogues, Wieringa sketches an inky black portrait of a meagre emotional life and a perverse small-town culture.’
De Standaard
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781925693737 |
| PRICE | A$27.99 (AUD) |
| PAGES | 256 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Mandy J, Reviewer
I found this a really compelling read, an original character study of an aging man in a small Dutch village, whose life seems to have passed him by, a moving portrait of a man left behind by the modern world which is overturning all his certainties. Paul Kruzen, in his 50s, lives with and cares for his elderly father, and each day is much like the previous one. It always was a quiet life and now, with so many people having left the village, those who remain seem at odds with the new globalised world, exemplified by the Chinese, Poles and Russians who have made it their temporary home. Paul is hurt and damaged by the past, especially his mother’s abandonment when he was a small child, the present is bleak and the future hopeless. He has a friend, or rather someone he is used to being with, but Hedwige himself is just as much an outsider. It’s a poignant tale of loneliness and disappointment which even the efforts of Saint Rita, the patron saint of lost causes, can do little to alleviate. Well written, with insight and empathy, this poignant tale made a real impact on me. Highly recommended.
