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The longing for all-embracing love

The Very Tired Man and the Woman who Passionately Loved Bonsai

Kaatje Vermeire & Peter Verhelst

A woman reads a wanted ad in the newspaper one day: “man seeks woman to die for”. When she rings the number, she hears someone sigh. She’s never heard such a beautiful sigh before. The woman moves in with the man. He’s tired, dead tired, because he wants to die but it’s not working out. The woman has brought along her entire collection of scissors and shears for her hobby: bonsai trees. She wants to help the man to die. Slowly he grows towards her and slowly she shapes and cultivates love.

128 pages of pure beauty
De Wereld Draait Door

In this picture book for adults, Kaatje Vermeire’s pictures and Peter Verhelst’s words each tell a story of their own. The reader combines the two, creating an artwork on every page. Verhelst writes poetry in prose form, using sentences that will make readers hold their breath in admiration. Vermeire moves the reader with her shapes, contrasts and textures, which make you pause and ponder every picture. What does that dash of green mean? Is there finally hope? Or peace? A book to make the reader sigh, to leaf back through, and to return to again and again.

An exquisite poetic text with equally exquisite poetic illustrations
De Standaard