Lieke van der Berg: The Estranged Daughter Turned Environmental Advocate

Overview

Lieke van der Berg is the estranged adult daughter of Christina van der Berg, the late psychic and activist who bequeaths her Ibiza house to Grace Winters. Introduced as a famous techno DJ based in Amsterdam, Lieke initially appears distant and guarded, masking a deep well of grief and resentment toward her mother. Over the course of the novel, she undergoes a quiet transformation—from a daughter who refused her mother’s psychic intrusions to a public figure who uses her platform to honour Christina’s environmental activism. Lieke’s arc embodies the novel’s themes of broken family ties, the struggle for autonomy, and the possibility of reconciliation beyond death.

Plot Role

Lieke first appears in Chapter 22 when Grace learns about her from Rosella, a shop assistant. Rosella points to a billboard advertising Lieke’s residency at Amnesia, noting that Christina “had tears in her eyes” when speaking of her daughter. This establishes the fractured relationship as a central mystery. In Chapter 57, Grace encounters Lieke at a garden centre. Lieke reveals the painful reasons for the estrangement: Christina, after a transformative diving experience, could predict the future and became “consumed,” making normal life impossible. Lieke’s anger is raw but also laced with regret—she admits she and her mother “ended badly.” Later, Grace attends Lieke’s performance at Amnesia (Chapter 103), where Lieke interrupts the set to speak about her mother’s death and then selects a meaningful track. This act sparks Lieke’s later involvement in the environmental protest against development at Es Vedrà. By the novel’s end, Lieke helps rally support for the protest, using her fame to amplify Christina’s cause. She thus becomes a conduit for the mother she once rejected.

Motivations and Traits

Lieke’s primary motivation is a fierce desire for autonomy and predictability—the very qualities her mother “stole” by revealing her future. She tells Grace: “How can you live a life if you know everything that is going to happen?” This explains her choice of career as a DJ: techno music, with its mathematical structure and repetitive beats, offers a controlled, predictable environment. Her neck tattoo of “Silence” ironically underscores her need for mental quiet. Yet beneath the tough exterior, Lieke is deeply fragile. Grace senses that her “steel” is a front, and she emits “bittersweet notes of defiance and sadness.” Lieke also shows openness: she offers Grace guest spots at her club night, demonstrating a lack of prejudice despite her own pain. Her eventual decision to speak publicly about her mother marks a shift from avoidance to engagement.

Chronological Arc

Lieke’s arc moves from estrangement to reluctant reconciliation through action. Before the novel’s present, she endured a childhood with a “shit mother” who became psychic and controlling. The final argument ended with Christina slapping her, and Lieke refused to engage further. She moved to Amsterdam, built a successful DJ career, and deliberately kept her distance. During the novel, Grace’s arrival forces Lieke to confront the past. At the garden centre, she unburdens herself, revealing the depth of her hurt. Later, at the club, Grace projects a memory of Lieke’s seventh birthday—love and warmth—which triggers Lieke to honor her mother’s wish to use her platform for good. This is the turning point. By the end, Lieke actively supports the Es Vedrà protest, signaling her acceptance of Christina’s legacy. She does not fully repair the relationship (her mother is dead), but she finds a way to channel her own influence toward the same cause.

Relationships

With Christina: The central relationship. Lieke describes Christina as “hard to be around” after the diving experience. She paid a therapist to conclude her mother was a poor parent. Yet she admits Christina loved her, and Grace confirms this. The final argument involved Christina’s disappointment over Lieke’s indifference to the protest. Lieke’s regret over this is palpable—her thoughts have “a red heat” when she recalls it. With Grace: Initially wary, Lieke warms to Grace after the club incident. She warns Grace that Christina’s house is “a trap” and that Grace is “her replacement.” This shows Lieke’s protective side and her understanding of her mother’s manipulations. With Alberto Ribas: Lieke is linked indirectly. Alberto was Christina’s diving partner and mentor. Lieke’s later involvement in the protest aligns with Alberto’s environmental mission. No direct interaction is shown, but both characters serve as extensions of Christina’s world.

Key Decisions and Consequences

• Refusing her mother’s predictions: Lieke chose to distance herself rather than submit to Christina’s psychic knowledge. This preserved her sense of self but left her isolated and resentful after Christina’s death.
• Refusing the house: She told Christina she “didn’t want her shitty little house,” which deepened the rift. This decision left the property to Grace, setting the novel’s plot in motion.
• Confronting Grace at the garden centre: By opening up, Lieke allowed Grace to understand the family wounds. This conversation planted the seeds for Grace’s later ability to access Christina’s memory and heal the rift symbolically.
• Using her platform at Amnesia: Lieke’s decision to speak and play a meaningful track was a pivotal moment. It transformed her from a passive victim of grief into an activist. The consequence is her active role in the protest, fulfilling her mother’s wish and finding purpose.

Themes and Symbols

• Grief and Guilt: Lieke embodies the guilt of unresolved conflict. Her regret over the final argument fuels her later activism. This theme connects to the broader exploration of loss in the novel, detailed in the grief and guilt theme page.
• Transformation and Rebirth: Lieke’s shift from DJ to advocate mirrors the novel’s arc of personal transformation. She sheds her defensive shell to embrace her mother’s cause, a rebirth made possible by Grace’s intervention. See transformation and rebirth.
• Interconnectedness: Lieke’s journey shows how lives are linked across time and space. Her mother’s influence persists, and Grace’s role as a bridge is crucial. The interconnectedness theme examines this web.
• Environmental Activism: Lieke’s eventual participation in the Es Vedrà protest connects her to the novel’s ecological message. She uses her fame for a cause larger than herself. Explore environmental activism.
• The Limits of Rationality: Lieke’s rejection of her mother’s psychic abilities reflects a rationalist stance. Yet she later acts on an emotional, irrational impulse to honor her mother, suggesting that some experiences transcend logic. See the limits of rationality.

Book-Specific Questions and Answers

1. Why did Lieke become estranged from her mother?
   Lieke could not cope with Christina’s psychic abilities after her diving accident. Christina’s constant predictions “stole the thing that makes life life—unpredictability.” Lieke felt she had no freedom and described having “God as a mother,” which forced her into the role of a “fallen angel.”

2. How does Lieke change by the end of the novel?
   Initially distant and bitter, Lieke transforms into a public advocate for environmental protest. At her Amnesia gig, she speaks about her mother’s death and uses her platform to rally support for the Es Vedrà campaign, finally embracing the cause Christina championed.

3. What does Lieke’s neck tattoo “Silence” signify?
   The tattoo suggests Lieke’s craving for mental quiet and control, in contrast to her mother’s intrusive psychic knowledge. It also ironically highlights her chosen profession as a DJ, which relies on sound—perhaps a form of controlled noise that drowns out inner turmoil.

4. How does Grace influence Lieke’s arc?
   Grace visits Lieke at the garden centre and later projects a loving childhood memory during Lieke’s set. This triggers Lieke’s decision to honor her mother. Grace acts as a catalyst, showing that healing can come from unexpected connections.

5. What is Lieke’s view of her mother’s inheritance to Grace?
   Lieke sees the house as a “trap,” warning Grace that Christina was “recruiting” her as a replacement. This reveals Lieke’s bitterness but also her insight into her mother’s manipulative side. Despite this, she accepts the situation and offers Grace friendship.

For a deeper analysis of Christina’s death and the protest’s outcome, see the ending explained page, or consult the questions and answers for more insights.