Breakwater

Emilia has a fulfilling career as a statistician. She has a loving husband, two sons, and a beautiful countryside home. However, when a fleeting moment of panic triggers a haunting memory, the delicate balance of her life begins to unravel. Later, heavy rains cause a flood in their neighborhood and threaten their house. And Emilia’s inner turmoil is just getting bigger and bigger.

Schermer explores the profound impact of sexual violence, exploring how a deeply buried secret can resurface unexpectedly and disrupt the carefully constructed facade of normalcy.

The threat of the overflowing river reflects the uncontainable surge of memories that threaten to engulf her. The boundaries of both - house and her protection from the past - can be very fragile.

Breakwater is a haunting examination of memory, trauma, and the resilience of the human spirit.

 

Goodreads

 

Details:

• author: Marijke Schermer
• full title: Breakwater
• genre: literary fiction
  
• format/type: bookfiction
• country: Netherlands
  
• topics: #sexualassault, #memory, #trauma
  
• publisher: World Editions
  
• publish date: 04 Apr 2023
• pages: 192
  

My Rating of the Book:

• content: 💙💙💙💙

 

About the Author: 

 

Marijke Schermer (b. 1975) is a novelist and playwright. In a full-page review, the NRC Handelsblad proclaimed that Schermer is ‘quickly becoming one of the most interesting writers in the Netherlands.’ Her novel Noodweer (2016) was shortlisted for the ECI Literature Prize and has been translated into German, Spanish and Danish. Her novel Love, if that's what it is was shortlisted for the Libris Literature Prize 2020.