Peter Buwalda Otmar’s Sons

Buwalda’s breath-taking masterpiece

145,000 copies sold

Shortlisted for the Bookspot Literature Prize 2020

‘Incredibly gripping, technically superb and intriguing. A narrative treasure.’***** NRC Handelsblad

‘A 1001 nights of reading pleasure. In grandiose, rich and imaginative language. Otmar’s Sons is intelligent, timeless, tantalising, witty and addictive.’***** De Standaard

Irresistible. Morbid issues described in a cheerful, boyish and bold style; that contradiction is what makes Otmar’s Sons by Peter Buwalda a masterpiece.’ – De Groene Amsterdammer

Otmar’s Sons tells the story of a young Shell employee named Ludwig Smit, who, after visiting the illustrious Johan Tromp on the Siberian island of Sakhalin, finds himself stranded there during a snow storm. It’s at that very moment, when investigative journalist Isabele Orthel hands Tromp the lid to a Pandora’s box, that his sensational career in the oil industry begins to teeter. Tromp – hedonist, alpha male, Shell’s crown prince and in all regards Ludwig’s exact opposite – misjudges his two visitors entirely.

World rights: De Bezige Bij – Rights sold: Trilogy: Rowohlt (Germany), Actes Sud (France). Otmar’s Sons: Cappelen Damm (Norway), Politikens Forlag (Denmark), Jelenkor (Hungary) – Novel – 605 pages – March 2019 – Full German and Danish translations available, English sample translation available – Selected by the Dutch Foundation for Literature as one of the 10 Books from Holland