You could already smell the rain. The girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The wind drove red sand across the bare plain and chased it up the hill. Once it got to the top, it swirled around her and teasingly pulled her hair.

A run-down hotel on a bare plain: the only hiding place for a girl in the rain. Once inside, a fox offers her a chair. A suspicious rat acts like he has met her before. But she can't remember anything. Not even her own name.... At the hotel she finds more questions than answers. She hears piano music, but can't find the piano. And what about the pieces of paper flying around the plain? While she tries to mend these pieces together, the pieces in her mind start to come together as well. And then she remembers the question she really wants to be answered.

Reviews

 “In this debut novel, two seemingly unrelated stories merge into a poignant journey from anger to acceptance. ... Initially perplexing and surreal, the narrative’s juxtaposition of fantasy and reality eventually blends beautifully in the convincing conclusion.”
     —Kirkus Reviews

 “Matti takes readers on an enigmatic journey through a landscape that encompasses the profundities of life and death and of love that transcends all boundaries. Remarkable and arresting and wholly original, this novel lingers in the mind long after the last page has been read.”
     —School Library Journal

“In alternating chapters, Dutch author Matti's first novel tells two esoteric stories that coalesce into a lyrical and moving whole.... The shifts between stories are seamless.... As the puzzlelike story unfolds, it retains a suspenseful quality, as the girl works through emotional issues and uncovers the large and small mysteries in her life.”
     —Publishers Weekly

““[T]he bereavement story is riveting, not only the universals of sadness, guilt, and anger, but also the secrets that are revealed, especially when the girl finds the tender, funny letters that her father wrote to her that talk about the games they shared.”
     —Booklist

about the author

Truus Matti has been an editor at the Frederik Muller Academy and a production assistant in publishing. She attended the Rietveld Academy and worked in film and animation before devoting herself to writing. Departure Time is her first novel.