Joke van Leeuwen
Joke van Leeuwen (b. 1952) writes prose and poetry for children and adults as well as working as an illustrator and performer.
About the Author
Her novel Alles nieuw (All New) was shortlisted for the AKO Literature Prize, De onervarenen (The Inexperienced) was shortlisted for the Libris Literature Prize and Feest van het begin (Feast of the Beginning) earned the AKO Literature Prize. She received the Gouden Ganzenveer (Golden Goose Feather) and the Constantijn Huygens Prize for her body of work.
More Joke van Leeuwen
That's What I Mean, Said the Salmon
In 'Dát bedoel ik, zei de zalm' (That’s What I Mean, Said the Salmon), Joke van Leeuwen’s characters muse about their own worth and vulnerability.
Cheep!
One characteristic of classics is that they tell us the most ordinary things in extraordinary ways. Alice’s constant growing and shrinking, for example, teaches her that nothing is what it seems to be. And Pinocchio’s nose shows him that lying doesn’t pay. 'Iep!' is based on a similar principle. Like Deesje and Bobbel, main characters in Van Leeuwen’s previous books, Eep is pervaded by an enormous longing for freedom, a demand for space for people as they are. Eep is a creature with little wings and little limbs that closely resemble legs. Little legs with little toes and ‘little nails on those toes and tiny little crumbles of earth under those nails on those toes on those legs.’ A little angel fallen from heaven, half bird and half human. And since Tine and Warre have wanted a child for so long, they decide to keep their foundling and look after it as best they can.
I Thought That You
'I Thought That You' is about manipulation in a romantic relationship and a protagonist who gradually shows himself to be a toxic individual. The nameless narrator feels hard done by; he has a drinking problem and is prone to fits of rage. He is a painter who compares himself to Van Gogh when in reality he hasn’t got much further than an exhibition in a neighborhood restaurant.