This is one of the most compelling books I've read recently. Originally published in Dutch as Wij zijn Licht in 2020 and translated into English in 2023, this extraordinary novel earned the European Union Prize for Literature in 2021. The story reimagines actual events that unfolded in my hometown of Utrecht, where in 2017, a member of a spiritual commune died of malnutrition while practicing breatharianism - the belief that humans can subsist on light alone. Though the other commune members faced charges of criminal neglect, they were ultimately acquitted.
Blees masterfully chronicles the years preceding the tragic night, the event itself, and its reverberating aftermath. What sets this novel apart is its bold narrative structure: each chapter is told by an unexpected, non-human narrator. We hear from the night itself, the house (bristling at its new designation as "the crime scene"), doubt personified, the scent of oranges, bread (lamenting both its rejection by the commune and society's growing skepticism about its nutritional value), and loneliness, among others. What could have been a mere literary gimmick instead serves as a powerful lens through which we learn about the lives and motivations of the commune’s denizens.
The author captures with chilling precision the gradual descent into isolation and the psychological barriers that prevent the group’s members from breaking free. A friend who briefly lived with the commune after falling in love with one of its members confirmed the accuracy of this portrayal - making it all the more remarkable that the author crafted this narrative without speaking to any of the commune’s members directly.
The commune exists to this day, still maintaining its online presence through the website mentioned in the book.