A collection of highly personal and poetic essays about life, literature, and politics by the renowned German writer, Jenny Erpenbeck Jenny Erpenbeck’s highly acclaimed novel Go, Went, Gone was a New York Times notable book and launched one of Germany’s most admired writers into the American spotlight. In the New Yorker, James Wood wrote: “When Erpenbeck wins the Nobel Prize in a few years, I suspect that this novel will be cited.” On the heels of this literary breakthrough comes , a book of personal, profound, often humorous meditations and reflections. Erpenbeck writes, “With this collection of texts, I am looking back for the first time at many years of my life, at the thoughts that filled my life from day to day.” Starting with her childhood days in East Berlin (“I start with my life as a schoolgirl … my own conscious life begins at the same time as the socialist life of Leipziger Strasse”), Not a Novel provides a glimpse of growing up in the GDR and of what it was like to be twenty-two when the wall collapsed; it takes us through Erpenbeck’s early adult years, working in a bakery after immersing herself in the worlds of music, theater, and opera, and ultimately discovering her path as a writer. There are lively essays about her literary influences (Thomas Bernhard, the Brothers Grimm, Kafka, and Thomas Mann), unforgettable reflections on the forces at work in her novels (including history, silence, and time), and scathing commentaries on the dire situation of America and Europe today. “Why do we still hear laments for the Germans who died attempting to flee over the wall, but almost none for the countless refugees who have drowned in the Mediterranean in recent years, turning the sea into a giant grave?” With deep insight and warm intelligence, Jenny Erpenbeck provides us with a collection of unforgettable essays that take us into the heart and mind of “one of the finest and most exciting writers alive” (Michel Faber).

A collection of highly personal and poetic essays about life, literature, and politics by the renowned German writer, Jenny Erpenbeck

An unforgettable German bestseller about the European refugee crisis: “Erpenbeck will get under your skin” (Washington Post Book World) Go, Went, Gone is the masterful new novel by the acclaimed German writer Jenny Erpenbeck, “one of the most significant German-language novelists of her generation” (The Millions). The novel tells the tale of Richard, a retired classics professor who lives in Berlin. His wife has died, and he lives a routine existence until one day he spies some African refugees staging a hunger strike in Alexanderplatz. Curiosity turns to compassion and an inner transformation, as he visits their shelter, interviews them, and becomes embroiled in their harrowing fates. Go, Went, Gone is a scathing indictment of Western policy toward the European refugee crisis, but also a touching portrait of a man who finds he has more in common with the Africans than he realizes. Exquisitely translated by Susan Bernofsky, Go, Went, Gone addresses one of the most pivotal issues of our time, facing it head-on in a voice that is both nostalgic and frightening.

Imagine you have found the ideal new home for yourself and your young daughter after several years of upheaval. You can't believe your luck! Not only is the new house wonderful, but your handsome (single) neighbour introduces himself to you within the first week of your arrival and there is more than a hint of romance in the air. Then - the unthinkable happens. A home invasion and rape. Just six months after moving in. Not My Story traces the tumultuous journey of the author through the foreign landscape of rape survivor. It follows the twists and turns of the police investigation, from the gruelling statement-taking marathon to the comprehensive forensic examination on the morning of the assault. The depressing and traumatising process of creating an identikit image which yielded no result. The book explores how rape trauma affects us and documents from the inside one person's recovery process. The title asserts the author's conviction that survivors do not have to be defined by the actions of others. After the perpetrator's eventual capture the justice process began and here the glaring omissions of the victim's needs were all too apparent as the legal machinery ground into action. The rape raised so many questions about crime, prisons and the possibilities of restorative justice, and eventually the author braved a mediation conference with the unknown perpetrator 6 years after the assault. From the very morning of the assault, the author was gripped by the need for "something good" to come out of the atrocity. She tried working with the media, giving evidence to an Inquiry, and spent countless hours volunteering for grassroots organisations to introduce advocacy into the service delivery mix. She learned the hard way that more than good intent is required to bring about service enhancements in an area few people want to talk about. Not My Story is a kitchen sink memoir featuring a home invasion, rape, social and restorative justice, parenting and a love affair. If you have been assaulted, this book may speak to you; it is for you. If you have never been assaulted, this book will help you to support loved ones who have gone through this profoundly wounding experience. We need to talk about this stuff.

Gabi’s a girl in pieces. She wants a lot of things. Will she find the thing she needs most?

Finalist for the 2022 Lammy Award for Bisexual & the 2022 Heartland Booksellers Award A Book Riot Best Book of the Year “Audaciously human and raw. The Way She Feels is a rainbow during the rain.” —Mara Altman A witty and one-of-a-kind debut graphic memoir detailing and drawing the life of a girl with borderline personality disorder finding her way—and herself—one day at a time. What does it feel like to fall in love too hard and too fast, to hate yourself in equal and opposite measure? To live in such fear of rejection that you drive friends and lovers away? Welcome to my world. I’m Courtney, and I have borderline personality disorder (BPD), along with over four million other people in the United States. Though I’ve shown every classic symptom of the disorder since childhood, I wasn’t properly diagnosed until nearly a decade later, because the prevailing theory is that most people simply “grow out of it.” Not me. In my illustrated memoir, The Way She Feels: My Life on the Borderline in Pictures and Pieces, I share what it’s been like to live and love with this disorder. Not just the hospitalizations, treatments, and residential therapy, but the moments I found comfort in cereal, the color pink, or mini corndogs; the days I couldn’t style my hair because I thought the blow-dryer was going to hurt me; the peace I found when someone I love held me. This is a book about vulnerability, honesty, acceptance, and how to speak openly—not only with doctors, co-patients, friends, family, or partners, but also with ourselves.

A Sunday Times Book of the Year ‘A memoir as soulful, wryly witty, and lyrical as it is candid and courageous’ – Booklist, starred review ‘Impressive, candid and vivid’ The Times ‘Beautifully written’ Sunday Times Sally Field is one of the most celebrated, beloved and enduring actors of our time, and now she tells her story for the first time in this intimate and haunting literary memoir. In her own words, she writes about a challenging and lonely childhood, the craft that helped her find her voice, and a powerful emotional legacy that shaped her journey as a daughter and a mother. Sally Field has an infectious charm that has captivated audiences for more than five decades, beginning with her first television role at the age of 17. From Gidget’s sweet-faced ‘girl next door’ to the dazzling complexity of Sybil to the Academy Award-winning ferocity and depth of her role in Norma Rae and Mary Todd Lincoln, Field has stunned audiences time and time again with her artistic range and emotional acuity. Yet there is one character who always remained hidden: the shy and anxious little girl within. With raw honesty and the fresh, pitch-perfect prose of a natural-born writer, and with all the humility and authenticity her fans have come to expect, Field brings readers behind the scenes for not only the highs and lows of her star-studded early career in Hollywood, but deep into the truth of her lifelong relationships including, most importantly, her complicated love for her own mother. Powerful and unforgettable, In Pieces is an inspiring and important account of life as a woman in the second half of the twentieth century.