Gert Loschütz
A Fine Couple
fiction
250pp (58,500 words)
>> Longlisted for the German Book Prize 2018
>> Shortlisted for the Wilhelm Raabe Literature Prize 2018
>> Independent Bestseller List
>> SWR List of Best Books
They make a fine couple: Georg, a young soldier, and Herta, a seamstress at a fashion house who dreams of a future as a model. After a chance encounter turns into love, the two marry in 1942 and after the war settle into an unexceptional life with their small son Philipp in the newly formed East German state.
One day, however, Georg comes into contact with the West German authorities, who try to recruit him as an informant. When a tell-tale letter arrives from the West, he flees to West Germany, terrified of being arrested. There he finds a job in a textile factory, Herta and Philipp follow him, and the little family begins a new life. But then Georg is accused of stealing money from the company accounts. His marriage to Herta collapses. Herta vanishes completely from the lives of her husband and son for many years, leaving Philipp with nothing but a few postcards – with no return address – to remind him of his mother.
Years later, when Philipp has grown up, he sets out on a journey into the past – a journey that leads him towards a remarkable discovery.
Rights sold
Bulgaria – Atlantis
English World – Seagull
book club - Büchergilde Gutenberg
paperback - Random House / btb
audio book - Lindhardt Ringhof / steinbach sprechende bücher
» Contact:
Reviews
»Loschütz has turned his parents’ tragic love story into the most discreet of German reunification novels. A book of classic beauty.«
Katharina Teutsch, Die Welt
»Masterful!«
Ursula März, DIE ZEIT
»One of the most important contemporary writers.«
Erich Hackl, Die Presse
»The story of love and its political dimension. (...) Loschütz writes in the tradition of the nouveau roman: the possibilities of literature are combined with the possibilities of the lovers. (...) Unconditionally firm and incredibly tender.«
Insa Wilke, Süddeutsche Zeitung
»Loschütz writes in an observer’s sober language with detailed yet never trivial descriptions.«
Stern
»The fascination of Loschütz’ language lies in its capability to enigmatically charge up everyday life without slipping off into mystification. (...) Simultaneously confusing and beautiful.«
Christoph Schröder, ZEIT ONLINE
»As is characteristic for his work, Loschütz immerses himself deeply into his protagonists' story, retracing it with subtle and tender indications.«
Lerke von Saalfeld, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
»Discreetly yet mercilessly narrated.«
Judith von Sternburg, Frankfurter Rundschau
»So intriguing that you will find it difficult to put down.«
Angela Wittmann, Brigitte
«A melancholic study on dignity, pride and the vulnerability of love.«
Thomas Neubacher-Riens, Frankfurter Neue Presse
»The reconstruction of an inner image.«
Meike Fessmann, Deutschlandfunk
»A literary work of art.«
»The discovery of the season!«
Michael Luisier, SRF (Swiss Radio)
»A lucid and poignant novel about love and ephemerality.«
Hubert Winkels, Deutschlandfunk
»An astute book that opens up new perspectives.«
Grit Warnat, Volksstimme
»An impressive, carefully composed and arranged novel about love in times of the German division.«
Gundula Ludwig, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Bücher am Sonntag
»Loschütz’ style reminds of Proust: breathtaking and precise sentences, an indifferent narrator.«
Ruthard Stäblein, Hessischer Rundfunk (hr2)
»With A FINE COUPLE, Gert Loschütz breaks through the sonic barrier of world literature.«
Peter Schultze-Kraft, Badische Zeitung
»Infinitely gentle.«
Salli Sallmann, Kulturradio
»An impressively multilayered and atmospherically dense novel.«
Gerrit Bartels, Südwestrundfunk (SWR 2 Kultur)
»The fate of this couple is closely interlinked to the huge political events in history, interlinked in a way that seems strange to us today, for we can, most of the time, decide for ourselves where and how we live, work, and love.«
Antje Liebsch, Brigitte Woman
»Loschütz turns the story into a brilliant small political thriller.«
Erik Lim, Südwest Presse
»The artistic composition of the novel is admirable, the sudden and yet subtle change of perspective and chronology, and the precision of the observations.«
Erich Hackl, konkret Magazin
»The novel is quiet yet all the more intense getting deeper and deeper under your skin while you're reading it.«
Heiko Buhr, lebensart
»Loschütz writes so wonderfully calm, you close the book at the end just to start it all over again.«
myself
»A mysterious novel, beautiful and entertaining.«
Markus Kranz, Dresdner Kulturmagazin
»A darkly sparkling German novel.«
Katrin Hillgruber, Stuttgarter Zeitung
More titles by Gert Loschütz
