In a series of three interconnected stories, Judith Hermann weaves together themes of psychology and friendship, unconventional childhoods, summers on the North German seashore and the act of writing itself. This is a literary narrative reflecting on when life becomes fiction, how dependable memory can be, and how close one's dreams can come to reality.
Very occasionally a book comes along that feels as if it were written just for me, and this is one of those rare books. All my life's defining concerns, as a writer and a woman, are here, and Hermann conveys and examines them with generosity and honesty and insight. This book stimulated my mind and touched me to the core. - Claire-Louise Bennett