Faber has announced that it will publish the second novel from Lucas Rijneveld, the winner of the 2020 International Booker Prize, on 1st February 2024.
The novel, titled My Heavenly Favourite, is translated from Dutch by Michele Hutchison, who also translated Rijneveld’s debut novel, The Discomfort of Evening. The Discomfort of Evening won the International Booker Prize in 2020, making Rijneveld the youngest ever author and the first Dutch writer to receive the prestigious award.
My Heavenly Favourite is set in the summer of 2005 and follows a 14-year-old farmer’s daughter who befriends a local veterinarian who is trying to escape his own trauma. Their friendship becomes an obsessive and dangerous bond that threatens to tear apart their community.
The novel was a bestseller in the Netherlands when it was published by Atlas Contact in 2021. Faber acquired the world rights (excluding Canada and the US) and will host Rijneveld’s first visit to the UK to mark the publication.
Rijneveld was born in 1991 in the Netherlands and grew up in a Reformed farming family. They identify as non-binary and use the pronouns they/them. They are also a poet and have published two collections of poetry, Kalfsvlies (Calf’s Caul) and Fantoommerrie (Phantom Mare).
Faber’s editorial director Louisa Joyner said: “Lucas Rijneveld is one of the most exciting writers of our time. My Heavenly Favourite is a stunning novel that confirms their extraordinary talent and vision. We are thrilled to be publishing it and to welcome Lucas to the UK for the first time.”
Hutchison said: “It’s a privilege to work with such a brilliant writer as Lucas Rijneveld. My Heavenly Favourite is a powerful and compelling novel that explores themes of trauma, obsession, friendship and community. I’m delighted that Faber will bring it to English readers.”
Rijneveld said: “I’m very happy that Faber will publish my second novel in English. I hope that readers will enjoy this story of a girl who tries to find her place in the world through an intense friendship with a veterinarian.”
