Hester Velmans Libri

Hendrik Groen is 83 years old and he has decided that it is time to make something of his life. He may be rich in years, but he refuses to give in to all the trappings of old age just yet. Hendrik's hilarious and touching diary documents his life as an OAP living in a care home. When he recruits some similarly young-at-heart friends to join his 'Old But Not Dead Club', Hendrik proves that love can blossom, rules can be broken and fun is within reach, even at their age. So begins a charming, poignant and moving novel that reminds us not to underestimate the oldest amongst us.

This beautifully woven masterpiece, spare yet richly told, plumbs the undercurrents of family life and tragedy in a startling and wise story of love, fate, and survival. Ellen Van Bemmel lives with her parents, who run an American news-clipping service, and her three siblings in an old Dutch house in a suburb of Amsterdam. Ellen's idyllic childhood is suffused with Americana, both the frivolous fringes like potato chips and Coca-Cola as well as milestones like Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon, until family disaster strikes on her twelfth birthday. From that moment on her world begins to unravel. Years later, Ellen plunges us into the past as she leafs through a faded photo album and confronts the literal and figurative ghosts of her childhood. Seamlessly alternating the past and present, taut with Hitchcockian tension and warmed by a redemptive love story, A Heart of Stone tells a darkly humorous, yet ultimately compassionate tale. A Heart of Stone is the first of her books to be translated into English.

Perché un dodicenne riceve strane telefonate da una rinomata azienda commerciale? Perché i direttori della Giphart International sono così ansiosi di assumere Joshie? È legato al suo misterioso talismano, un bracciale a forma di serpente? Credono che abbia la capacità di aprire un nuovo mercato illimitato: il tempo!? Il primo incarico di Joshie lo porta, insieme al suo amico Bors e all'eloquente Teresa, in un mondo onirico, dove devono cercare l'accesso ai tempi passati. Ma ciò che inizialmente sembra un'avventura lucrativa presto sfugge al loro controllo, e i tre si ritrovano intrappolati nella zona grigia tra sogno e realtà. L'unica via di fuga è la fine del tempo, ma fino ad allora li attende un lungo e pericoloso cammino.