Bonita Avenue
ABOUT
THE BOOK
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 in 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.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
Stunning debut. A family drama about math, judo, sex and death. An intriguing plot which leads to inevitable disaster. The story is told in various flashbacks, in the end everything falls into place. This novel has won various prizes and has been translated in to 12 languages. Probably the best debut the Netherlands has seen in a decade! An impressive work, in its construction and actual volume.
Elements of his past threaten the stability in the life and the family of a brilliant professor of mathematics. An explosion in a fireworks factory adds to the chaos.
A psychological and moral novel about major themes such as death, jealously, revenge, guilt and sexuality. It is a Dutch bestseller and prize winner; reviewers have compared Buwalda to Jonathan Franzen.