Peter Buwalda
Peter Buwalda

Peter Buwalda (b. 1971) is a Dutch novelist, formerly a journalist, editor, and founder of the literary music magazine Wah-Wah and columnist. Bonita Avenue is his debut novel. First published in 2010 to critical acclaim, it was short-listed for twelve literary prizes and spent two years on bestseller lists. Bonita Avenue has since been translated into many languages.
Recent titles – English material
Bonita Avenue, 2010
Otmar’s Sons (Otmars Zonen), 2019
Press on Bonita Avenue:
This dazzling family saga was a huge hit when it was published in the Netherlands in 2010; critics hailed Buwalda as ‘The Dutch answer to Jonathan Franzen’, but his brilliance is entirely unique - Times
Buwalda knows how to tease his reader with addictive story lines - Independent
[O]ne wild ride… a new writer as toe-curling as early Roth, as roomy as Franzen and as caustic as Houellebecq… a note-perfect English translation - Sunday Telegraph.
Fluent and complex, uncompromising and occasionally shocking, Bonita Avenue exposes a domestic dystopia where madness, violence and dark sexuality are seen to be only a hair’s breadth away - Daily Mail
It’s a fantastic debut which, at over 500 pages, doesn’t outstay its welcome. - Glasgow Herald
Already in the first chapter Buwalda portrays the convincing character of a cad with a turn for mathematics and an obsession for judo… Buwalda has an easy going style, clear and precise, and completely unpretentious. – De Groene Amsterdammer
Outstanding read. Bold language and content. Bonita Avenue is a book which deserves a large audience. – HP | De Tijd
Buwalda is one of those rare authors who absolutely hit the mark with their very first novel. Its stylistic virtuosity is at the service of a moving family tragedy and a wealth of penetrating observations and insights. Astounding. – de Volkskrant