Summerhouse, Later

In nine luminous stories of love and loss, loneliness and hope, Judith Hermann's stunning debut collection paints a vivid and poignant picture of a generation ready and anxious to turn their back on the past, to risk uncertainty in search of a fresh, if fragile, equilibrium. Against the backdrop of contemporary Berlin, one of Europe's most vibrant and exhilarating cities, Hermann's characters are as kaleidoscopic and extraordinary as their metropolis, united mostly in a furious and dogged pursuit of that "narrow strip of sky over the rooftops."