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An enigmatic novella about death

Heaven

Bart Moeyaert & Gerda Dendooven

An old man has nothing more to add to his life, ‘except for one last day’. Before he dies, he would like to see the sea once more, preferably on Wednesday, because it’s going to be warm for the time of year. He and Death are old acquaintances, and Death promises to return on Wednesday. When Wednesday arrives, the man waits, but Death does not come. Death is not to be found on the bus to the sea either. But then he turns up at an unexpected moment...

After the enjoyment and applause, you’ll suddenly find yourself lying awake at night
De Volkskrant

In this gem of a story, Moeyaert writes with surprising lightness about loneliness and dying. Gerda Dendooven’s robust green-and-black drawings capture the tenderness of death and the strangeness of this imminent demise. The story does not head straight for the predictable conclusion, but capers and skips along, which creates a touch of absurdity and subtle irony. By taking this approach, the author effortlessly avoids over-sentimentality. With his fine and delicate prose, which forces the reader to slow down and absorb the text as if it were poetry, Moeyaert shows that death is part of life.

A literary gem, in which text, illustrations and form are perfectly in balance
Cutting Edge