Biography of a Fly

by Jaap Robben, Paul Faassen (Illustrator), David Doherty (Translator)

For readers of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse comes a beautifully illustrated philosophical book on the value of friendship and life, told from the perspective of a fly, and a gift book for all ages. What if you were thrown into existence in the middle of your life, with numbered days left ahead of you? Would you see the world in the same way? In his inimitable style, Jaap Robben answers these questions through the unexpectedly witty lens of a fly, from the moment it enters the world as a larva right up to its deathbed. Watch this humble fly throw himself into life and his unlikely friendships with gusto, however short that life may be. Irresistibly charming, funny, and sprinkled with entomological details, this is a moving tale for any stage of life, about how we are all ultimately alone, and yet also together.

Genres: Animals, Graphic Novels, Dutch Literature, Fiction

64 pages, Hardcover

Published September 6, 2022

About the author

Jaap Robben (1984) does not write specifically for an age, but for everyone in particular. With his debut novel 'You have me to love' (Birk), he conquered booksellers, readers as well as critics. Birk was awarded the Dutch Booksellers Award, the ANV Debut Award and the Diorapthe Jongeren Literatuurprijs. Only in the Netherlands and Belgium more than 80.000 copies have been sold so far.

Summer Brother (Zomervacht) was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2021 and received a lot of praise in- and outside the Dutch language borders. Zomervacht was made into an awardwinning movie by Joren Molter.

In 2022 he published his latest and much-discussed novel Afterlight (Schemerleven) that became a bestseller too and was awarded with the Confituur Booksellers Award 2023.
The English translation of Schemerleven (Afterlight) will be published in May 2024.

Robben’s novels are made into films and his work has been published in sixteen languages.

Reviews

[Konserve Ruhlar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kitabı katıldığım atölyede Çağrı Odabaşı tavsiye etmişti. Adından da anlaşıldığı gibi bir sineğin hayatını anlatıyor. Doğumundan ölümüne kadar 23 günlük bir sürede neler yaşadığını, neler düşündüğünü, üçüncü bir gözden, esprili bir dille okuyoruz. Çocuk kitabı gibi görünse de aslında yetişkinlere daha çok hitap ediyor bence. Dostluk, ölüm, keşifler ve yaşamın küçük detaylarında gizli güzellikler üzerine harika bir öykü. Sineğin şahinle olan imkansız arkadaşlığına bayıldım. Diyalogları müthişti.

[Cansu Kargı · Rating 4 out of 5]

Çok güzel bir kitap sayfa iç tasarımı, çocuk kitaplarının çocuk kitabı ötesinde olanlarıyla yolumun kesişmesini çok özlemişim.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een kort verhaal over het leven van een vlieg, en een buizerd, over vriendschap en vergankelijkheid. Rijke taal, mooie woorden en treffende zinnen. Zoals deze: 'Een vlieg wordt niet geboren, een vlieg wordt wakker ergens middenin zijn leven'. Ik hou van de humor van Jaap Robben: open, vertederend en soms grappig door naïviteit. Een vertelling met een lach een een traan.

Dit boekje was als wandeltocht te lezen, met op verschillende plekken in het centrum van Arnhem een bladzijde uit het boek. Leuk om te doen en een mooie manier om door de stad te wandelen. Een welbestede zondag.

[Cherlynn | cherreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biography of a Fly is an unexpectedly bittersweet tale about... well, the life of a fly. And a very short one at that. The story was dry at times and occasionally funny, but somehow I grew emotionally attached to the titular character in just 65 pages.

The artwork is minimalist and vivid, though hard to view properly due to the digital format. The text feels a bit too wordy for a graphic novel and I would prefer for it to be more split up across pages or with paragraphs. Ironically, it's the illustrations that get cut off on my screen.

Overall it was an interesting read but I might enjoy this more if the reading experience was better.

Thank you to World Editions and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

[sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

nooit gedacht dat ik geraakt zou zijn door een vliegje yet here we are

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insects generally have a short life span, often measured in hours, but sometimes they can live for days. A typical fly has their whole life compressed into the days that number less than a month and this beautifully illustrated little book is the story of one fly.

He begins his life in a small pile of dachshund poo, not the most salubrious of locations, but for the fly, this is a perfect start. He emerges from his pupa after three days and with his 4000 eyes is amazed by the world around him. He finds a buzzard on a lamp post and they begin the most strange of friendships that last him his entire life…

This is quite a lot of fun to read, it has many funny moments throughout the story as well as showing the lifecycle of a fly during their brief life. The illustrations are just blue and white with line drawings and are really nicely done.

[Marleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow 😍 Mooi, scherpzinnig verhaal in pakkende woorden en sprekende beelden over het leven van een vlieg (en een buizerd) in een prachtig linnen jasje.

[Ellen IJzerman (Prowisorio) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lief. Gewoon een lief verhaal. Ik hield van (deze) Vlieg, net zoals Buizerd.

[Yaprak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hem komik hem de hüzünlü bir hikaye. Yaşamın geçiciliğine, farklılıkların dostluğuna bir sineğin gözünden bakmak harika bir fikir. Meav Yayıncılık'ın kumaş ve sert kapaklı baskısı da harika. :')

[Pınar Aydoğdu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okuduğum en iyi çocuk kitaplarından! Hayat gerçekten böyle bir şey işte…

[Star Gater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and World Editions for accepting my request to read and review Biography of a Fly.

Author: Jaap Robben
Published: 09/06/22
Genre: Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga

Perfect example of why a mind is a terrible thing to waste. I love creative people.

Included are sketches depicting the various phases and thought processes of a fly. The sketches are simple. The real story is in the words. Robben takes us on a journey where we see what a fly thinks, how it lives, where it was born; and we are there for Fly's first intimate moment.

This is a fun, somewhat educational (okay, I didn't fact check), and a sorta sad showing of the food chain.

Warning: There is a considerable amount of poo talk (just saying).

I would definitely gift this to a friend with a sense of humor as a coffee table book and a kid who needs a little tap into the cruel but fun side of life and science.

[Maikel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gezien de korte duur van het leven van een vlieg (23 dagen) mag het wellicht niet verbazen dat dit illustratieboek dun is. Toch maakt dit gegeven dat ik weliswaar kon glimlachen om de getoonde verbeeldingskunst en enkele mooie vondsten (zo zoemt een vlieg omdat zijn gedachten te groot zijn om binnen te houden in zijn kleine hersenen en roept een buizerd naar de vlieg: "Uit stront ben je geboren, tot stront zul je wederkeren"), maar dat deze biografie van een vlieg me niet kon beroeren.

[Lynn Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a digital arc of this book!

As an entomologist, I can appreciate the beauty that is the lifecycle/biography of a fly, but as a reader my only thoughts are , "What the hell was that?"

[Huyen Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grappig en leuk kort boekje. Voorgelezen en naar geluisterd op Buitenkunst.

[Jard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lief, en een beetje verdrietig

[Floor · Rating 4 out of 5]

leuke verhaaltjes en mooie tekeningen

[Erna Wiering · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ultrakort verhaal over het korte leven van een vlieg en de onwaarschijnlijke maar ontroerende vriendschap met een buizerd. Prachtig geschreven en geïllustreerd!

[Staceywh_17 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book begins with a steaming pile of Daschund poo and several other big piles of turds that the fly has visited today!

I love reading books that are written through the eyes of the animal/insect and in this one we had the story of the most annoying, dirtiest of insects, the fly!

A fun read depicting the short life of a fly, cleverly written and nicely illustrated throughout.

The demise of little fly Poo Paws was actually quite emotional.

Loved the concept, flew through the book over a cup of coffee (see what I did there 😂)

Many thanks to Netgalley for my ARC in return for my honest review.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐

[Hendrik Dejonckheere · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jaap Robben had dit boekje ook als titel "een kort leven" kunnen geven. Robben blijft bij de essentie: geboren worden, bewust worden, voortzetting ven de soort en afsterven. De vlieg is ook een metafoor voor de beperktheid van bewustzijn, wat weten we nu eigelijk allemaal. Kortom een mooi geïllustreerd en talig werkje zonder veel diepgang.

[Monique Van hest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wat een mooi alomvattend boekje. Over een vlieg en een buizerd, over alleen zijn en samen, groei en stilstaan, ofwel de vergankelijkheid en de onvergankelijkheid van het leven. Dat las is er in ieder geval in.

[Jochen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vanaf vandaag zal ik nooit meer op dezelfde manier als vroeger naar vliegen kijken. Dankjewel, Jaap Robben! Lees dit boek en probeer het droog te houden. Wedden dat je dat niet helemaal lukt?

[Gusta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prachtig ontroerend! In 10 minuten uit maar blijft bij me. Ik kijk nu heel anders naar een vlieg… en naar een buizerd…

[Yo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mooi geïllustreerd en filosofiewise helemaal af. Trots op ‘onze’ Robben. Leuk cadeautje om aan vrienden te schenken 😉

[Manon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gekregen van mijn begeleider als afstudeercadeautje. Wat een mooi, klein verhaaltje.

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: For readers of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse comes a beautifully illustrated philosophical book on the value of friendship and life, told from the perspective of a fly, and a gift book for all ages.

What if you were thrown into existence in the middle of your life, with numbered days left ahead of you? Would you see the world in the same way?

In his inimitable style, Jaap Robben answers these questions through the unexpectedly witty lens of a fly, from the moment it enters the world as a larva right up to its deathbed. Watch this humble fly throw himself into life and his unlikely friendships with gusto, however short that life may be. Irresistibly charming, funny, and sprinkled with entomological details, this is a moving tale for any stage of life, about how we are all ultimately alone, and yet also together.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Beautiful, weird little meditation on Nature, and the nature of Life. A fly’s life, from larva to deathbed, told in direct and (as far as I could tell without doing more research than seemed warranted) accurate manner.



That life being short, it’s good to follow it chronologically and to deal with the Stuff of Life (warning to the squeamish...lots of honest talk about shit) in a way that will inform the reader of, say, eight and up about more than just the biology involved in living.

I don’t find bodily functions as unpleasant to discuss as many seem to. The fact is, we all shit or we are dead. Eating, sleeping, shitting, sweating...take the stigma out of bodily functions for kids, I beg of you. It does no good at all to teach a child to feel disgust for their body.

A book like this is a very easy way to start that goal off. Enjoyable on many levels, for many ages...most art fans will like the minimalist color palette and the gloriously weird framing of the images, and thoughtful readers will enjoy the philosophizing.

What kind of squeamish speciesist could resist this face?

[Pırıl · Rating 3 out of 5]

🪰 🪰 🪰

🪰 🪰

🪰 🪰
🪰 23 days of the fly 🪰
happy fly 🪰
🪰teenage fly
🪰excited fly
fly in love 🪰 🪰
🪰friend fly
🪰🪰🪰🪰old fly
🪰 🪰 🪰

🪰 🪰 🪰

🪰
🪰

[Khansa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really quick and cute read. The story begins with the birth of our fly protagonist, later dubbed as 'Poo-Paws'. The book follows Poo-Paws as he learns to fly, meets Buzzard and tries to find a mate.

I loved the relationship with our fly and Buzzard. It was a short bittersweet relationship, but we saw both characters develop.

I love the pictures, they were very simple and really made reading this graphic novel enjoyable.

Highly recommend this!
Thanks to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[thatswhatimtolkienabout · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Biography of a Fly was a very interesting read. I didn’t know quite what to expect from it, if it would be funny or more serious or sad. This store definitely covers just about all emotions! It started on a funny note that got progressively more sad as the fly went through it’s lifespan.

The Biography of a Fly is definitely one to check out. The story is great and the illustrations are even better!

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Biography of a Fly' by Jaap Robben with art by Paul Faassen tells the life (and death) story of a common fly.

Flies live a short life, but that doesn't mean it can be without meaning. The particular fly of note here discovers existence, gets the name 'Poo-Paws,' finds a new friend with a buzzard, and finds love.

I really liked this funny and thought provoking story. There was more depth here than I was expecting and the art added to my enjoyment.

[Başak]

bir çocuk edebiyatı kitabının sonunda dumur olmak. bir sineğin gözünden hayatı böyle varoluşsal biçimde nasıl sorgulayarak yazabilir, bunu yazmayı nasıl akıl edebilir bir insan? bazı insanların nahifliğine ve inceliğine şaşırıyorum, tabii yazma yeteneğine de. bu kadar az şey yazarak çok şey anlatabilmelerine de, büyük yetenek sahiden. 🪰

"belki de uçmak başından beri bir direnişten ibaretti; rüzgara karşı bir direnişten."