- Published: 06/02/2020
- ISBN: 9781783785735
- Granta Books
- 144 pages
The Sweet Indifference of the World
Peter Stamm
Translated by Michael Hofmann
Christoph, a middle-aged writer, has a story to share with Lena, a young actress. A long time ago, he was in a relationship with a woman called Magdalena, who was also an actress. Lena is currently in a relationship with a man called Chris, who is also a writer. As the two talk, it becomes clear that the two relationships contain echoes, similarities, and coincidences too remarkable to be called coincidences. Are Chris and Lena doomed to repeat Christoph and Magdalena’s broken relationship, or are Christoph and Magdalena a warning from the future? Who really exists? Is there such a thing as fate?
And so begins a uniquely existential game of past and present that will leave no one unharmed.
£12.99
One of Europe's most exciting writers
New York Times
An elegant dart of a novel as clear and mesmerizing as an MC Escher drawing. I felt both lost and found at once. Peter Stamm is a truly wonderful writer
Catherine Lacey
Translated by the great Michael Hofmann with his usual perfect pitch, this novella raises some challenging questions about memory, individuality and free will
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