Emilia has it all: a rewarding career as a statistician, a wonderful husband, and two healthy young sons. Having escaped Amsterdam for a life in the countryside, she and Bruch pass their time performing endless jobs around the house. But when a brief moment of panic triggers the memory of a traumatic experience from twelve years before, Emilia finds herself floating away from her average existence. The secret she's kept for so long refuses to stay hidden, and as Emilia's grip on reality loosens, heavy rains begin to fall. In this critically acclaimed novel, Schermer explores the impact of sexual violence, and whether or not it's possible to truly know another person. Breakwater is a haunting examination of memory and trauma, written in prose stunning in its frankness and precision.

Marijke Schermer's Love, If That s What It Is gives a kaleidoscopic view of a divorce, permitting the reader to enter the heads of not only the spouses, but also of the two daughters and their new lovers. Through several characters, the reader is presented with just as many views on relationships, while Schermer remains impartial and thus confronts readers with their own - perhaps shaky - romantic principles. What is love? With fresh flair and provocative perspectives, Schermer manages to provide an original and versatile answer

For fans of Marriage Story and Elena Ferrante's Days of Abandonment Terri runs off with a lover, abandoning her children and her marriage of twenty-five years. Her husband, David, is left to take care of their two daughters, one of whom is falling in love for the first time. These four people start to question their identity outside the nuclear family. What remains of a disintegrated home, and what changes? Marijke Schermer's Love, If That's What It Is gives a kaleidoscopic view of a divorce, permitting the reader to enter the heads of not only the spouses, but also of the two daughters and the divorcees' new lovers. Through several characters, the reader is presented with just as many views on relationships, while Schermer remains impartial and thus confronts readers with their own--perhaps shaky--romantic principles. What is love? With fresh flair and provocative perspectives, Schermer manages to provide an original and versatile answer.