Everything There Was

The world has ended. What now?One Sunday, eight people gather at a school to record a television programme. But the show is never made, because the end of the world has arrived. The authorities order all windows, doors and curtains to be closed. And stay closed. They hear nothing more for days, then weeks.

Through the eyes of TV editor Merel, a young woman, we see the group trying to survive in a new world, a world of darkness and isolation, of sleeping on gym mats and living on ten grains of rice a day. The survivors play cards, talk about their past, sleep together: anything to pass the time until their rescue. As food supplies dwindle, tensions mount. And when will the authorities arrive?

At once arresting, original and richly entertaining, Everything There Was is a gripping and disorientating novel that will enthrall readers of The Road or Station Eleven.

Hanna Bervoets writes novels, columns and scripts. Her columns for Volkskrant Magazine, collected in That's Nice, Bye, are hugely popular in the Netherlands. Bervoets won the 2009 Debutant of the Year Award for her first novel Or, How, Why. Its follow-up, Dear Celine, was awarded the 2012 Opzij Literature Prize.

Praise for Everything There Was'An eye-opening novel that takes a fresh look at everything we're taking for granted' Opzij

'This book grabs you by the throat' nu.nl

'One truly clever novel' De Groene Amsterdammer