Keetje

In the cramped back alleys of early‑20th‑century Paris, a sixteen‑year‑old girl named Keetje is forced to assume an adult’s guise to survive. Dressed in borrowed finery and high heels, she prowls the city’s sordid streets, her mother trailing behind, both bound by hunger and desperation. The narrative opens with their uneasy partnership, a blend of love, resentment, and the relentless need for a next meal.

The novel follows Keetje’s struggle to navigate a world that sees her as both commodity and outcast. Through vivid scenes—her painful steps, moments over coffee, and a tentative card reading—it explores the fragile line between survival and self‑destruction. Listeners will be drawn into a haunting portrait of poverty, family ties, and the quiet defiance of a girl who refuses to be wholly defined by her circumstances.