Rome, one January afternoon in 1943. A young German woman is on her way to listen to a Bach concert at the Lutheran church. Innocent and naive, the war is for her little more than a daydream, until she realizes that her husband might never return. This is a mesmerizing psychological portrait of the human need to safeguard innocence and integrity at any cost - even at the risk of excluding reality. Moreover, it's a compelling and credible description of a typical young German woman during the Nazi era. If we can relate to her we come close to understanding the forces that were shaping an entire generation. The literary masterpiece by one of Germany's most renowned contemporary writers was published in 2006 and immediately reprinted three times within the first couple of months.

Portrait of the Mother as a Young Woman

Friedrich Ch Delius

Peirene Press Ltd

A postmodern Victorian novel about faith, knowledge and our inner needs. The late 1870s, the Kentish village of Downe. The villagers gather in church one rainy Sunday. Only Thomas Davies stays away. The eccentric loner, father of two and a grief-stricken widower, works as a gardener for the notorious naturalist, Charles Darwin. He shuns religion. But now Thomas needs answers. What should he believe in? And why should he continue to live? ------ Why Peirene chose to publish this book: 'This is Peirene's most poetic book yet. A tale of God, grief and talking chickens. Like Dylan Thomas in Under Milk Wood, Carlson evokes the voices of an entire village, and, through them, the spirit of the age. This is no page-turner, but a story to be inhabited, to be savoured slowly.' Meike Ziervogel, Publisher

Mr Darwin's Gardener

Religion & Spirituality

Kristina Carlson

Literature & Fiction

The internationally acclaimed Polish bestseller about the Holocaust A remarkable true story of love and survival Now for the first time in English The Warsaw Ghetto 1942 When Izoldas husband Shayek is imprisoned she sets out to release him She changes her name her hair her religion Eventually she is captured and deported to Auschwitz But even there she trusts that her love will save them both

Chasing The King Of Hearts

Hanna Krall

LONG-LISTED FOR THE INDEPENDENT FOREIGN FICTION PRIZE 2015 ------- LONG-LISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2016 ------ INDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2014 -------- GUARDIAN READERS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2014 ------- A haunting Russian tale about the environmental legacy of the Cold War. Yerzhan grows up in a remote part of Soviet Kazakhstan where atomic weapons are tested. As a young boy he falls in love with the neighbour's daughter and one evening, to impress her, he dives into a forbidden lake. The radioactive water changes Yerzhan. He will never grow into a man. While the girl he loves becomes a beautiful woman. ------ Why Peirene chose to publish this book: 'Like a Grimm's fairy tale, this story transforms an innermost fear into an outward reality. We witness a prepubescent boy's secret terror of not growing up into a man. We also wander in a beautiful, fierce landscape unlike any other we find in Western literature. And by the end of Yerzhan's tale we are awe-struck by our human resilience in the face of catastrophic, man-made, follies.' Meike Ziervogel, Publisher

The Dead Lake

Hamid Ismailov

A novel about a mother-daughter relationship that will send a chill down your spine. Johanne is a young woman in her twenties who lives with her mother. When she falls in love with Ivar, she finally feels ready to leave home. The couple plan a trip to America. But the morning of her departure, Johanne wakes up to find the door locked. Can she overcome her fears? Will she shout for help? Will she climb out of her fourth floor window? ------ Why Peirene chose to publish this book: 'Everyone who has read Fifty Shades of Grey should read this book. Why? The Blue Room holds up a mirror to a part of the female psyche that yearns for submission. The story shows how erotic fantasies are formed by the relationship with our parents. It then delves further to analyse the struggle of women to separate from their mothers - a struggle that is rarely addressed in either literature or society.' Meike Ziervogel, Publisher

The Blue Room

Hanne Ørstavik

Contemporary

A beautiful homage to the art of reading - light and funny. A celebration of the union of sensuality and language. Marie-Constance loves reading and possesses an attractive voice. So, one day she decides to put an ad in the local paper offering her services as a paid reader. Her first client, a paralysed teenager, is transformed by her reading of a Maupassant short story. Marie-Constance's fame spreads and soon the rich, the creative and the famous clamour for her services. ------ Why Peirene chose to publish this book: 'The premise of the story is brilliant: a woman who loves reading aloud acquires - without realizing - power over others. What's true for her clients becomes real for you, the reader of this book. As you turn the pages, think of Marie-Constance as the personification of "reading" itself. And I promise you an experience you will never forget.' Meike Ziervogel, Publisher

Reader for Hire

Raymond Jean

A tragic love story about two sisters who cannot live with or without each other. Far out on the plains of northern Norway stands a house. It belongs to two middle-aged sisters. They seldom venture out and nobody visits. The older needs nursing and the younger keeps house. Then, one day, a man arrives...------- Why Peirene chose to publish this book: 'This is a tragedy about a woman who yearns for love but ends up in a painfully destructive conflict with her sister. It is also a story about loneliness - both geographical and psychological. Facing the prospect of a life without love, we fall back into isolating delusions at exactly the moment when we need to connect.' Meike Ziervogel, Publisher

The Looking-Glass Sisters

Gabrielsen, Gohril

Literary

The Man I Became

Verhelst, Peter

Her Father's Daughter

Marie Sizun

An elderly lady offers a young woman a piece of cake. She accepts. The lady resembles the Austrian Empress Elisabeth and lives with her servant in an apartment full of bizarre souvenirs. More invitations follow. A seemingly harmless visit to the museum turns into a meticulously planned raid to steal a royal cocaine syringe. Without realizing, the young woman has become the lady's accomplice. Does she realize she is losing control? ----- Why Peirene chose to publish this book: 'On the surface this is a clever, thriller-cum-horror story of three women and their descent into addiction, crime and madness. And at times it's very funny. But don't be fooled. The book also offers an exploration of the way the mind creates its own realities and - quite often - deludes us into believing that we control what is actually controlling us. Uncanny, indeed.' Meike Ziervogel, Publisher

The Empress and the Cake

Linda Stift

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Books by Peirene Press Ltd