Nature Starts Here

Caro Van Thuyne made her debut in 2018 with the short-story collection ‘We, the Foam’ and immediately made it onto the shortlist of the Anton Wachterprijs. In 2021 she published her first novel ‘Desire Lines’. This thoughtful book about a woman in mourning was very well received by fans of inspiring, unconventional literature with a distinctive voice and style. It earned Van Thuyne the Bronzen Uil 2021. According to the jury, her debut novel is a “poetic and sensual depiction of the rawness of life.” And: “Here’s a new voice, old yet contemporary in its use of language.”

In her latest book, Caro Van Thuyne draws on that unique voice to address another theme that’s close to her heart: the natural world. Some time ago, Caro withdrew from hectic urban life and moved to Houtland, near the Flemish coast. There she lives and writes surrounded by nature. From behind her desk, with her hands and feet in and on the soil of her garden, or during long walks, she observes life around her and watches as it adapts to the changing seasons. In 12 chapters, one for each month of the year, and in a poetic, meandering, yet also precise way, she describes her view, the plants and animals around her, as well as the light, the sky and the clouds.

The book is richly illustrated with Wiske Vandendriessche’s watercolours, which are a perfect foil for the delicate texts in which both reader and writer learn to truly see nature.