Bonita Avenue

Praise

“When I finished Bonita Avenue…I knew it was definitely a very good and structurally interesting book. But over the next nine months the novel has only grown more powerful in my imagination, and certain scenes have gotten stuck in my head and I can’t get them out… Buwalda skillfully charts the course of a dysfunctional family with many secrets and, in the formidable Professor Siem Sigerius, a stubborn patriarch whose past may destroy his family. The characters are complex, often amoral, and masterfully observed by the author. The drama and pathos are offset in a lovely way by dark humor and absurdity. Buwalda handles the revelations of mysteries in both the present and past with remarkable assurance. The novel’s climax is chilling, unforeseen, and in some ways, profound.”—Jeff VanderMeer

“Robust [and] dark… In the manner of Iris Murdoch at her most manic…The plot orchestration and lively character renderings of Bonita Avenue are dazzling.”—New York Times Book Review

“A bold and assured debut, Bonita Avenue deftly alternates between narrators and settings to keep readers morally unsettled and in suspense. It’s not hard to see why Peter Buwalda’s ambitious debut novel, first published in his native Holland in 2010, has attracted numerous comparisons to the work of Jonathan Franzen…A satisfying, psychologically nuanced read.”—Huffington Post

“Buwalda’s magnificent first novel offers proof of Tolstoy’s dictum that ‘every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’ Three uniquely unreliable voices narrate this darkly humorous familial drama…Their interweaving narratives, which hop between the Netherlands, Shanghai, Belgium, and California, chart the years between the rise and fall of their outwardly successful but privately dysfunctional family.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This award-winning debut novel is flat-out extraordinary. The rich layer of detail would be impressive if applied to one topic, but Buwalda creates multiple complex worlds around vastly different subjects…An outstanding literary suspense story that will appeal to a wide range of readers.”—Library Journal, (starred review)
 
“Buwalda’s debut…becomes increasingly compulsive reading as it nears its dark close…This tumultuous saga of a family breaking down…is an international bestseller and award winner. A significant literary achievement.”—Booklist, (starred review)

“Dazzling…[A] giddily twisting family drama.”—Penthouse

International Praise for BONITA AVENUE

“One wild ride:  a swirling helix of a family saga that swerves from gross-out sex comedy to pitch-black revenge tragedy as twist after twist reframes what we know about its dysfunctional cast…manic…  as toe-curling as early Roth, as roomy as Franzen and as caustic as Houellebecq. Don’t let me forget to mention Jonathan Reeder’s note-perfect English translation.”—Telegraph (UK)

“No way that this is a debut novel, is your first impression when you start reading Bonita Avenue––but it is! An instant literary classic, loaded with suspense, by a brilliant and truly original writer.”—Herman Koch, author of THE DINNER and SUMMERHOUSE WITH SWIMMING POOL
 
“A literary sensation…[A] crazy-paving, jigsaw puzzle…Addictive…A considerable achievement …Bonita Avenue is an entertaining end in itself, and evidence that Buwalda is just getting started.”—Independent (UK)
 
“Compelling”—The List (UK)

“Plenty of wit and sharp human observation… Highly recommended for fans of dark family drama”—We Love This Book
 
“Fluent and complex, uncompromising and shocking.”—Daily Mail (UK)
 
“This dazzling family saga was a huge hit when it was published in the Netherlands in 2010; critics hailed Buwalda as ‘The Dutch answer to Jonathan Franzen’, but his brilliance is entirely unique.”—The Times (UK)

“Great European art: the Dutchman Peter Buwalda explodes the bourgeois family saga. The narrative pyrotechnics alone are a tour de force.”—Die Ziet (Germany)

“It’s a fantastic debut which, at over 500 pages, doesn’t outstay its welcome” —Glasgow Herald