'This little gold nugget is both accessible and special, both prose and poetry, both down-to-earth and philosophical, text and blank space, Flemish and universal' – Jury Confituur Boekhandels Prize 2025
'With this poetic work, Marieke De Maré shows how literature can unite extremes. This novel speaks powerfully about predominantly silent people. It's lighthearted and poignant, painfully relatable and completely estranging. This book is a gem worth cherishing' – F. Bordewijk Prize 2024
‘Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent. In Marieke De Maré that silence is highly expressive. ' – De Standard
‘De Maré digs with a great deal of relativizing humour to find the melancholy that lies deep inside her characters. ’ – Knack
‘Marieke De Maré uses the power of suggestion in this story of a family and its herd of sheep, which feels both utterly Flemish and astonishingly universal. ’ – Feeling
Winner of the 2025 Confituur Boekhandel Prize, judged by independent booksellers
Winner of the 2024 F. Bordewijk Prize for best Dutch-language novel
Over 10,000 copies sold in the Netherlands
A poetic parable of life, family ties and love with the unyielding rhythm of the natural world as a reminder that life cannot be rewound
I’m Going to the Sheep tells the story of five people orbiting around each other in their own unique and unusual routines, whilst the unyielding rhythm of the natural world serves as a reminder that life cannot be rewound.
Simone and Andrej have lived for many years in a house on the edge of a sparsely populated village, looking out on their sheep barn. Their daughter Tove is an artist and she rarely visits. Not far away lives their only friend, Rocco, a funeral director with whom they try to solve mathematical riddles each week. Simone has a congenital condition that means her bones are literally fragile. It dictates that she has to lead a ‘limited’ life that depends upon habits and minor diversions. Andrej is home every day too now, having lost his job as an engineer. He eats chocolate at all hours and often seeks out the company of the sheep in their barn.
We look at the couple’s small world over a period of two weeks. Simone’s mother dies; Tove prepares an exhibition. Events large and small are set side by side. Not much is said and problems are bottled up, but beneath the surface is a richer inner world than its external features would suggest. The quietude speaks volumes, the silence of the characters is multifaceted. Shimmering through the daily routine the reader can detect fairy tales, magic realism and a touch of absurdist humour.
I’m Going to the Sheep is about silence, watching, holding on and letting go. And about loving life. But how exactly do you do that?