The Fire
ABOUT
THE BOOK
With plans adrift after a fire burns down their rented holiday cabin, Rahel and Peter find themselves unexpectedly on an isolated farm where Rahel spent many a happy childhood summer. Suddenly, after years of navigating careers, demanding children and the monotony of the daily routine, they find themselves unable to escape each other’s company. With three weeks stretching ahead, they must come to an understanding on whether they have a future together. What happens when love grows older and passion has faded? When what divides us is greater than what brought us together? And how easy is it to ask the fundamental questions about our relationships?
The original German title of Daniela Krien’s book The Fire is Der Brand, published in 2023 by Diogenes Verlag
ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Jamie
Bulloch
Jamie Bulloch has translated almost fifty books from German, including works by Timur Vermes, Robert Menasse, Sebastian Fitzek and Daniela Krien
Jamie Bulloch has translated almost fifty books from German, including works by Timur Vermes, Robert Menasse, Sebastian Fitzek and Daniela Krien
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
Ostensibly the portrait of a marriage, the novel is also an expedition into our society with its current discussions on topics such as gender identity, feminism, fall of the Wall an reunification. Although the text is written from Rahel’s perspective, Peter’s feelings and problems as an “old white man” are also visible. The depiction of his alienation from a world that is changing too rapidly is a central motif. Daniela Krien language is clear and without frills. She writes never banal, but always artfully literary, what makes the novel wonderfully readable.