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Quote by Jessie Burton

“The rules of this house are written in water. I must either sink or swim.”

Work

In this historical fiction, a newlywed woman moves to Amsterdam and discovers a series of miniature rooms that mirror her life in unsettling ways. The story delves into the complexities of marriage, the social hierarchy of the time, and the mysterious forces at play in her new home. more

Author

Jessie Burton

Jessie Burton is a British author born in 1982. Her works are known for historical novels and fictional stories, which have won her a wide audience. more

“It was in December. I stood in the back of the tram, all the way in the back. It drove through the country and stopped and started again, it took hours, the countryside was endless. And the sky got bluer and bluer and the sun shone until it seemed like flowers would have to start sprouting out of the country bumpkins. And the red roofs in the villages and the black trees and the fields, most of them covered with straw, had it nice and warm, and the dunes sat bareheaded in the sun. And the road lay there, white and smarting, it couldn't bear the sunlight, and the glass panes of the village streetlamp flashed, they had trouble withstanding the glare too. But I got colder and colder. And the tram ran as long as the sun shone. It's a long ride from Hillegom to Leiden and the days are short in December. By the end, a block of ice was standing there on the tram staring into the big stupid cold sun that was flaming red as though the revolution was finally starting, as though offices were being blown up all over Amsterdam, but still it couldn't bring a spark of life back to my cold feet and stiff legs. And it kept getting bigger and colder, the sun, and I got colder and stayed the same size, and the blue sky looked down very disapprovingly: What are you doing on that tram?”

December Amsterdam Tram

Book:Amsterdam Stories

Source: Amsterdam Stories

“Zolang dit bestaat, en ik het mag beleven, deze zonneschijn, die hemel waar geen wolk aan is, zo lang kan ik niet treurig zijn.”

Amsterdam Dagboek Dagboekbrieven De Tweede Wereldoorlog Het Achterhuis

Author:Anne M. Frank

“In Amsterdam. Eeuwen geleden het centrum van Europa, nu een gore provinciestad vol boeven, hoeren en ruïnes, maar door de burgemeester nog altijd voor een wereldstad gehouden.”

Amsterdam Eighties 1989 Stad

Book:Au pair

Source: Au pair

“« Plus personne ne pouvait dire "Allahou akbar" sur le sol de l’Andalousie, cette terre où, pendant huit siècles, la voix du muezzin avait appelé les fidèles à la prière. Plus personne ne pouvait réciter la Fatiha sur la dépouille de son père. Du moins en public, car ces musulmans convertis par la force refusaient de renier leur foi. »”