A novel that the author himself thought no one would ever want to read, but which became a bestseller in a short time.

A 49-year-old vet develops a forbidden love for a farmer's underage daughter during a sweltering summer. A love that quickly becomes an obsession. A story with moving but also intense scenes in which the adult man and the 14-year-old girl grow closer and closer until the border is crossed.

IVO VAN HOVE ABOUT MY HEAVENLY FAVORITE

'Marieke Lucas Rijneveld treads the slippery slope of a forbidden relationship between an adult man and an underage girl in an idiosyncratic, beautifully written and important book. A rollercoaster of emotions: ecstasy, deep unhappiness, loneliness, guilt, jealousy, craving, nightmares and sex. I can't wait to bring this masterful book to the stage.'

MARIEKE LUCAS RIJNEVELD ABOUT MY HEAVENLY FAVORITE

'I am very honoured that the grand master of the stage, Ivo van Hove, is performing Mijn lieve gunsteling on the stage. I have every confidence that it will be a wonderful adaptation. The cow in the spotlight! And the love, of course, the love.'