Wilde Erbsen

"A triumph of literary imagination. "Jury statement Libris Literature PrizeElke is different, and always has been. She doesn't wear the right clothes, doesn't ask the right questions, doesn't love the right people in the eyes of society. As a result, she doesn't feel like she really belongs anywhere and keeps stumbling into absurd situations. But as a biologist, Elke knows that everything always grows towards the light. A novel that uncovers all the layers, layers of earth, time and prejudices. "Wild Peas" tells the story of seed breeder Elke, who, after a failed attempt to breed a new variety of pumpkin, moves to an island off the Dutch North Sea coast. She wants to reintroduce the original pea to the wild there. Parallel to this endeavour and Elke's own search for identity, the mythical figure Ra appears, who lived nine thousand years earlier in Southwest Asia. Special powers are attributed to her, making her both an oracle and a scapegoat for the community. Ra, just like Elke in the present, doesn't seem to fit into any mould. And the peas also prove that binarity is something that does not exist in nature - until humans intervene. Mariken Heitman has written a clever, contemporary and humorous novel about naturalness, agriculture and the big questions of human existence. "Mariken Heitman's novel is multi-layered, eloquent and extremely original." De Volkskrant "Heitman is a clever and original thinker." NRC Handelsblad "I was enraptured by the precise, resonant and imaginative language, which never becomes pathetic or pompous. This innovative novel surprised me in every respect." De Groene Amsterdammer.