"Whether it's exploring the effects of collaboration during the Nazi occupation, the absences of loved ones or the vulnerable nature of male intimacy, the literature Mortier creates greets its readers warmly, and has in turn been met with numerous esteemed awards in Europe. . . . With tenderness and skill, Mortier crafts assured novels brimming with quiet optimism despite their often somber subjects. To have them now translated and available in the United States all at once is a generous treat." -
Shelf Awareness on Marcel, My Fellow Skin and Shutterspeed "Mortier's elegant sentences skip across the pages and rock the reader as if in a boat." -
de Volkskrant "Mortier is a master of nostalgic literature, of descriptions of a longing for a past that may never even have existed." -
NRC Handelsblad
"Wonderful." -
Trouw
Erwin Mortier (1965) made his mark in 1999 with his debut novel Marcel, which was awarded several prizes in Belgium and the Netherlands, and received acclaim throughout Europe. In the following years he quickly built up a reputation as one of the leading authors of his generation. His novel While the Gods were Sleeping received the AKO Literature Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in the Netherlands. His latest work, Stammered Song Book, a mother's book of hours,' a raw yet tender elegy about illness and loss, was met with unanimous praise. Mortier's evocative descriptions bring past worlds brilliantly to life.