Ulrich Tukur was born in 1957 in Viernheim. He studied German, English and history before going on to train as an actor at the Theatre Academy in Stuttgart. While still a student he acted in Michael Verhoeven’s film Die weiße Rose (‘The White Rose’), and later the Deutsche Schauspielhaus in Hamburg under the direction of Peter Zadek became his artistic home. He was most recently seen in Florian Henckel von Donnermarck’s film Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Tukur lives in Venice with his wife, the photographer Katharina John. This is his literary debut. ‘Stories bursting with life…they’ll enchant the reader.’ – Mittelpunkt Translation rights available from Ullstein Buchverlage GmbH Friedrichstr. 126 10117 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 23456 450 E-mail: susanna.schaefer@ullsteinbuchverlage. Contact: Susanna Schaefer Applications for assistance with translation costs - Germany Ullstein Buchverlage was founded in Hamburg in 1934 by Eugen Claassen and Henry Goverts. Although claassen was successful with commercial bestsellers such as Gone with the Wind in 1937 the focus has always been on literary fiction. Herman Melville was discovered for German readers by Eugen Claassen, as were Cesare Pavese, Elsa Morante and others. 1973 marked the beginning of a decade of Nobel laureates including Patrick White (1973), Eyvin Johnson (1974), Odysseas Elytis (1979) and William Golding (1983) In 2001 V.S. Naipaul went on to continue this tradition. In 2003 claassen was acquired by the Swedish media company Bonnier and moved to Berlin as part of the Ullstein publishing group comprising the imprints Ullstein, Propyläen, claassen, Econ, List, Marion von Schröder, Allegria, Ullstein Pocketbook and List Pocketbook.