Startlingly raw and deeply moving, this extraordinary debut novel from one of Germany’s most ambitious writers is full of passion, hope and despair
- Longlisted
- The Man Booker International Prize 2017
- Published by Fitzcarraldo Editions
Buy the book
Clemens Meyer’s dazzling, dizzying tour de force chronicles the growth of the sex industry in the former East Germany over the last 30 years
Meyer charts the rise and rise of the sex trade in the former GDR, from absolute prohibition to full legality in the 20 years following the country’s reunification. The focus is on a hooligan turned landlord, but we hear a chorus of other voices: the prostitutes, their clients, small-time gangsters, an ex-jockey searching for his drug-addict daughter, a detective… Time shifts and stretches, people die and come to life again, as Meyer constantly challenges his readers to keep up.
Clemens Meyer
Clemens Meyer was born in 1977 in Halle and lives in Leipzig, Germany
More about Clemens Meyer 
Katy Derbyshire
Katy Derbyshire, originally from London, has lived in Berlin for over 20 years. She helped to establish the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, awarded annually since 2017
More about Katy Derbyshire Other nominated books by Katy Derbshire
Startlingly raw and deeply moving, this extraordinary debut novel from one of Germany’s most ambitious writers is full of passion, hope and despair