Summerhouse, Later - Softcover

Hermann, Judith

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060006870 ISBN 13: 9780060006877

Publisher: Ecco Press, 2003

Synopsis

In nine luminous stories of love and loss, loneliness and hope, Judith Hermann's stunning debut collection paints a vivid and poignant picture of a generation ready and anxious to turn their back on the past, to risk uncertainty in search of a fresh, if fragile, equilibrium. An international bestseller and translated into twelve languages, Summerhouse, Later heralds the arrival of one of Germanys most arresting new literary talents.

A restless man hopes to find permanence in the purchase of a summerhouse outside Berlin. A young girl, trapped in a paralyzing web of family stories and secrets, finally manages to break free. A granddaughter struggles to lay her grandmother's ghosts to rest. A successful and simplistic artist becomes inexplicably obsessed with an elusive and strangely sinister young girl.

Against the backdrop of contemporary Berlin, possibly Europe's most vibrant and exhilarating city, Hermann's characters are as kaleidoscopic and extraordinary as their metropolis, united mostly in a furious and dogged pursuit of the elusive specter of "living in the moment." They're people who, in one way or another, constantly challenge the madness of the modern world and whose dreams of transcending the ordinary for that "narrow strip of sky over the rooftops" are deeply felt and perfectly rendered.

About this title

Review:

"Daringly lyrical."--O magazine

"Powerful... both whimsical and melancholic, at once edgy and moving -- the stuff of meaningful literature."--Denver Post

"Judith Hermann's intriguing debut collection ... offers nine glimpses of post-wall Berlin that shimmer with dark wit and intelligence."--Elle Magazine

"An exceptional debut that gives rise to great hope."--Die Zeit

"A work of vision, authority and humaneness -- something to be savored."--Times Literary Supplement (London)

"A master storyteller."--The Independent

"Hermann's writing is spare and literal and achieves a fullness that's almost magically spun... Arresting."--New York Times Book Review

"Sometimes heartbreaking and always starkly original. Every story here is worth reading. Exceptional."--Sunday Business Post, Dublin

"Judith Hermann's prose has conviction and is utterly of its time."--Focus

"One of the great revelations of contemporary Germany literature."--Le Monde

About the Author:

Judith Hermann lives in Berlin, where she works as a freelance writer. Summerhouse, Later is her first book.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ecco Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0060006870
• ISBN 13: 9780060006877
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224