A sweeping family saga from one of the most revered writers in Dutch letters, Off-White marks the English-language debut of Astrid Roemer, recipient of the P.C. Hooft Prize and the 2021 Prize for Dutch Literature. In Off-White, Roemer chronicles the inner lives of the women of the Vanta family as they tend to Grandma Bee's declining health. As the story moves from Bee's religious rituals and the fragrant dishes her granddaughter Imker cooks for her to intersecting layers of family trauma, Roemer exposes the complexities and tensions of betweenness: between young and old, past and present, homeland and homeland, white and off-white. This depiction of Suriname and the Netherlands at the close of the colonialera draws comparisons to the work of Toni Morrison and William Faulkner, as well as contemporary novelists such as Louise Erdrich and Igiaba Scego. Off-White, translated by Jan Steyn, introduces English-language readers to a writer whose daring prose conjures up a magical and colorful universe in which desire and pain are interlinked." ( De Telegraaf )"— Google Books

Buy on Amazon Buy from Publisher

Press Reviews

No press reviews curated yet — try the outside-search links below.

Find more reviews

Goodreads Book Marks The Complete Review Kirkus NYRB Asymptote Words Without Borders Google Scholar

User Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first!