Berlin. 11 July 1986. They meet by chance on a bus.
She is a young student, he is older and married.
Theirs is an intense and sudden attraction, fuelled by a shared passion for music and art, and heightened by the secrecy they must maintain. But when she strays for a single night he cannot forgive her and a dangerous crack forms between them, opening up a space for cruelty, punishment and the exertion of power.
And the world around them is changing too: as the GDR begins to crumble, so too do all the old certainties and the old loyalties, ushering in a new era whose great gains also involve profound loss.
From a prize-winning German writer, this is the intimate and devastating story of the path of two lovers through the ruins of a relationship, set against the backdrop of a seismic period in European history.
REVIEWS
'An ambitious story of love and betrayal' - Irish Times
'The ending is like a bomb thrown into your room - you'll be reeling for days and weeks to come.' - Neel Mukherjee
Paperback
Language: English Extent: 304 Publish Date: 11 April 2024 ISBN: 9781783786138 --- Publisher: Granta Books Imprint: Granta Books
