Narrowly is a dazzling novel about the whims of fate and the power of a human who refuses to be put down. A reissue of the debut awarded with the selexyz debutprize in 2006.

Maria Koenen leads a quiet life with a strict schedule. When Mark rings her doorbell her life is turned upside down. She doesn’t know he is her half brother and what he wants from her, but when he starts to visit her every day, Maria falls in love with him. They arrange a meeting on Friday night at café The Park. Then everything goes totally different from what she expected.

That night Douwe loses his son in a car crash in the Alps. His loss is paralyzing him and he locks himself up in his house. Months later, he sees the other side of the newspaper with the news of the accident. There he reads ‘Maria K. meets the man with the hammer in the park’, he reads. Finally Douwe is on the move again. He is going to search for Maria K.

‘A debutant that makes me curious to see what more she can do.’ – Trouw

‘Narrowly is an amusing and convincing debut.’ – de Volkskrant

‘Besides a delicate combination of style and content, Narrowly has something you don’t see very often in Dutch literature. A happy ending.’ – De Groene Amsterdammer

‘Her debut makes it very clear that Entius has talent. Strongly recommended.’
– Metro

‘Narrowly would have made an interesting movie. But the cinema’s loss is the reader’s gain.’ – Spits

‘The book is ingenious in simplicity.’ – Tubantia