Kruso
Translated by Tess Lewis
Overview
As the Iron Curtain starts to fray, a young man falls under the spell of a charismatic outsider
The lyrical, bestselling German Book Prize winner.
It is 1989, and a young literature student named Ed, fleeing unspeakable tragedy, travels to the Baltic island of Hiddensee. Long shrouded in myth, the island is a notorious destination for hippies, idealists, and those at odds with the East German state.
On the island, Ed stumbles upon the Klausner, Hiddensee’s most popular restaurant, and ends up washing dishes there, despite his lack of papers. Although he is keen to remain on the sidelines, Ed feels drawn towards the charismatic Kruso, unofficial leader of the seasonal workers.
Everyone dances to Kruso’s tune. He is on a mission — but to what end, and at what cost? Ed finds himself drawn ever deeper into the island’s rituals, and ever more in need of Kruso’s acceptance and affection. As the wave of history washes over the German Democratic Republic, the friends’ grip on reality loosens and life on the island will never be the same.
Details
- Format
- Size
- Extent
- ISBN
- RRP
- Pub date
- Paperback
- 6in x 9.2in
- 480 pages
- 9781947534117
- USD$17.95
- 12 June 2018
Categories
Awards
- Winner of the 2014 German Book Prize
- Winner of the 2015 English PEN Award
- Longlisted for the 2019 International Dublin Literary Award
- Runner-up for the 2018 Schlegel-Tieck Prize
Praise
“Lutz Seiler employs lyrical, sensual language with a hint of magic to describe the summer of 1989 on the island of Hiddensee — a ‘gateway to evanescence’ … One can read this compelling Robinsonade involving the eponymous Kruso and the young dishwasher Edgar as an eloquent tale of both a personal and historic shipwreck — and as a poet’s coming of age novel … Lutz Seiler’s first novel impresses with its thoroughly distinct poetic language, its sensual intensity and its worldliness.”
“If communism's final moments are an island of time, Kruso is a bottled message washed up from those distant shores. A strange journey, Seiler’s novel subscribes to island rules, with historicity suspended above and between fevered dreams of perfect community and beguiling freedom.”
About the Author
