The Lady with the Little Berber Dog
Die Dame mit dem maghrebinischen Hündchen

grigorcea die dame mit dem maghrebinischen huendchen cover
Doerlemann
January 2018 / 128pp
Fiction

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Sample Translation here
by Johanna McCalmont

review

Inspired by Anton Chekhov’s The Lady with the Dog, Grigorcea’s novella transposes Chekhov’s famous story to Zurich, giving it fresh meaning and life. 

At a café beside Lake Zurich, ballet dancer Anna meets Gürkan, a Kurdish gardener with a young family. Anna is also married but over the months that follow, the pair fall in love. Against the backdrop of Zurich’s changing seasons, the book charts how this chance meeting transforms Anna, making her reassess her life and art. Like Chekhov, Grigorcea focuses on the dissatisfaction of the two main characters with their lives and how their love for each other helps them find the meaning they crave. Living together is not a realistic option and the novella ends unresolved, leaving the couple to find their own way. 

Grigorcea’s writing is both concise and atmospheric. She is able to capture the emotional lives of her main characters as well as the essence of Zurich, giving a sense of what it is like to live and love in the city. The novella reads as a wake-up call, encouraging readers to follow their hearts and engage fully with life.

about the author

Dana Grigorcea was born in 1979 in Bucharest. She studied German and Dutch philology in Bucharest and Brussels, film and theatre direction in Brussels and journalism in Krems. Grigorcea was awarded the 3sat Prize in Klagenfurt at the 2015 Ingeborg Bachmann competition for ‘An Instinctive Feeling of Innocence’. Her debut novel, ‘Baba Rada. Life is Temporary and so is the Hair on your Head’ was awarded the 2011 Swiss Literary Pearl. After many years in Germany and Austria, Dana Grigorcea now lives in Zurich with her family.

rights information

Dörlemann Verlag AG (Switzerland)
Contact: Sabine Dörlemann
verlag@doerlemann.com

This Book Travels
Kathrin Scheel, ks@thisbooktravels.com

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