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2023 Longlist

Falling is Like Flying

Translated from the original Dutch by Sam Garrett

ABOUT
THE BOOK

This is a story she never wanted to tell, but in the end she had no choice. When her older sister dies at the age of sixty-nine, it brings back a past the author thought she had left behind. Incensed, she delves back into her childhood, recreating the abusive world that she grew up in, ruled by her tyrannical father, The Minotaur. In a narrative by turns shockingly dark and strangely beautiful, she retraces her path through the phantasmagorical labyrinth, bringing a tale of silent trauma to a triumphant, raucous conclusion. Falling is Like Flying is an extraordinary novelistic memoir of abuse and resilience, a literary triumph that reminds us what language is capable of.

 

 

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Manon
Uphoff

Manon Uphoff was born in 1962 into a family of 13 children. She left home at 16, went on to study literary theory and is now an acclaimed artist and writer, whose novels have been shortlisted for numerous prizes. Falling is Like Flying has been a literary phenomenon in the Netherlands, making 32 ‘Best of 2019’ lists, being shortlisted for 4 awards and winning the prestigious Charlotte Köhler Prize. It is the first of Manon’s books to be translated into English.

Manon Uphoff was born in 1962 into a family of 13 children. She left home at 16, went on to study literary theory and is now an acclaimed artist and writer, whose novels have been shortlisted for numerous prizes. Falling is Like Flying has been a literary phenomenon in the Netherlands, making 32 ‘Best of 2019’ lists, being shortlisted for 4 awards and winning the prestigious Charlotte Köhler Prize. It is the first of Manon’s books to be translated into English.

NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS

Falling is Like Flying is an impressive novel in which author Manon Uphoff demonstrates what literature is capable of. With all her literary power, Uphoff manages to reveal a history that seems almost impossible to tell. A history of sexual abuse by a dominating father called the Minotaur is uncovered in a devastating personal mythology. In this novel, the Minotaur is finally overcome in his labyrinth by the power of language.

– KB, National Library of the Netherlands

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Date published
19/03/2019
Country
The Netherlands
Author
Publisher
Pushkin Press
Translator
Sam Garrett
Translation
Translated from the original Dutch by Sam Garrett

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