New German Voices – Domenico Müllensiefen: From Our Fires and Ariane Koch: The Obtrusion

In his debut, Domenico Müllensiefen tells the story of three working-class friends who struggle to find a place in society during the difficult post-reunification period. »In a very concrete way, he makes comprehensible the multiple experiences of foreign determination and loss of identity of ordinary people in East Germany, out of which rage against the established order grew« [Der Freitag].

Ariane Koch’s debut novel is about a young woman’s encounter with a guest who suddenly appears in her large house in a too-small town next to a triangular mountain, initiating a circle of power fantasies and games. »You don’t do this grandiose debut any harm by putting it in relation to the fixed greatness of Kafka, because that doesn’t make this novel any smaller. On the contrary.« [Neue Zürcher Zeitung]

Due to personal reasons Ariane Koch cannot attend the festival. Hannes Becker will introduce the novel in absence of the author and will read from it.

Moderation: Miryam Schellbach
Language: German