24th ilb
5 – 14 Sep 2024 Program
9 – 18 Sep 2024 Young Program

Programmsparten: Literatures of the World

Madame Nielsen: Lamento

»Lamento«, the latest novel by the multitalented artist Madame Nielsen, tells of a passionate and ultimately painful relationship between a writer and a theater producer, and of the impossibility of reconciling the magic of infatuation with daily life. »Madame Nielsen dissects the nature of love and infatuation, with disaster always

Ray Loriga: Sábado, Domingo

Every Saturday [sábado] is followed by a Sunday [domingo]. In this case, there are 25 years in between. Federico is 18 when he goes through a tumultuous Saturday night with a friend and a waitress that he later barely remembers. At 43, he attends a Sunday school party for his

Amir Hassan Cheheltan: A Love in Cairo

Winner of the 2020 International Literary Award, the »Balzac of Iran« [Berliner Zeitung] tells the love story between the Iranian ambassador to Egypt and a Jewish woman who converted to Islam in Cairo at the end of the 1940s. He also vividly depicts the historical situation – the emerging Cold

Radka Denemarková: Stunden aus Blei

Along with historical digressions, quotations from Chinese classics and essayistic passages, this major political novel about contemporary China shows the development of individual characters in the resistance, but also criticizes European capitalism and Western arrogance. »The novel shows what it can mean to continue to hold on to hope for

Ilya Kaminsky: Dancing in Odessa

In his poetic texts, Ilya Kaminsky makes references to archetypes, myths, and Russian literature, bringing them to life with his keen sense of rhythm and melody of the English language. »Kaminsky’s verse spans continents and centuries, and feels like it belongs to Russian immigrant dreamers, American tourists and the millions

Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi: The First Woman

This coming-of-age novel, which won the Jhalak Prize, is a feminist interpretation of Ugandan fairy tales. It tells of a girl growing up with her grandparents, whose painful search for her mother is linked to the process of growing up and discovering her own femininity. »It is a novel that

Grand Tour: European Literature with Jānis Joņevs and Olivier Guez

The so-called Grand Tour was once undertaken by young aristocrats in order to expand their knowledge through travels. Today, those who want to travel through Europe can also do so by reading: The anthology »Grand Tour« contains stories and short stories by 27 writers – one from each EU member

Wu Ming-Yi: The Man with the Compound Eyes

In a world where trees can walk, deer turn into goats, and a giant garbage whirlpool drifts through the sea off Taiwan’s coast, an indigenous youth meets a jaded academic. The writer and environmental activist Wu Ming-Yi is considered one of Taiwan’s most important voices. Now, for the first time,

Intimations: Zadie Smith in conversation with Daniel Kehlmann

Zadie Smith, »one of the most important literary voices of our time« [WELT], has most recently published »Intimations«, a volume of essays from the first months of the corona lockdown. In conversation with Daniel Kehlmann, she discusses the power of literary essay writing and the tension between private and public

Dacia Maraini: Trio

This epistolary novel by the grande dame of Italian literature is set in 1743, when the plague ravaged Sicily. Two friends write to each other about the horrors they experience. Meanwhile, the husband of one friend, who also loves the other, travels back and forth between the two. »Trio« is

Amir Hassan Cheheltan: A Love in Cairo

Winner of the 2020 International Literary Award, the »Balzac of Iran« [Berliner Zeitung] tells the love story between the Iranian ambassador to Egypt and a Jewish woman who converted to Islam in Cairo at the end of the 1940s. He also vividly depicts the historical situation – the emerging Cold