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Vendor
C.H.BECK
Susanne Simor
Original language
German

Interior Weather

Elke Schmitter

Her new book, Interior weather, tells the story of the three siblings Sebastian, Bettina and Huberta and explores their relationships, feelings, entanglements and also their family background, embedded in Germany’s catastrophic history and its ongoing aftereffects. Their father, Georg Kupfer (born 1937), forged a career as a high-ranking lawyer and is now widowed. His wife died ten years ago and he has coped astonishingly well with old age. His reflections on success and failure in their many forms, his retrospective of his own life betray humour, sensitivity and a rather late sense of composure. Georg’s birthday party serves as the novel’s narrative fulcrum: the classic family get-together with all its pros and cons.

Schmitter’s writing is for readers of Siri Hustvedt or Rachel Cusk. Her aesthetic passion is the meta-level, subtle observations and psychological interpretations, with an eye – not rarely ironic or sarcastic – for tell-tale gestures. She gives us razor-sharp readings of erotic, family, societal and historical events and how they are interwoven – all of it in sparkling language of unconventional beauty. These impeccable characterisations and topical themes should appeal to a broad international readership. The dilemmas and responsibilities faced by these modern, middle-aged family members will be familiar to many other societies, and in this respect the author has created a novel with global resonance and appeal.


Her work was translated into the following languages:

Russia: Exem Licence

Turkey: Kültür Yayinlari and Palto Yayinevi        

US: Alfred A Knopf

Sweden: Albert Bonniers

Finland: Otava

France: Actes Sud

Taiwan: Sitak

Netherlands: De Bezige Bij

China: Beijing Dipper
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Book

Published by C.H.Beck

Main content page count: 208 Pages