Books U-Z

Veldman – Fien Veldman: Hard Copy

Bloomsbury Trade

Purchased from: Dubray Books, Dubin, Ireland

The book follows [her name], a customer service assistant at [company name]. Poorly paid and working on a temporary contract, she can be dismissed at a moment’s notice.
Her colleagues are trendy, sociable, and often gather after work—but she remains on the periphery, living a quiet, almost invisible existence in the office. Her one constant companion is the office printer, whose noisy presence becomes strangely comforting. Over time, she begins talking to it.
One day, her boss calls her into the office. Diagnosing her with burnout, he orders her to take a holiday. A few weeks later, mass redundancies are announced—not only affecting the staff, but even the office furniture. Will she ever see her beloved printer again?
In a fairy tale, this would be the moment the prince arrives on his white horse. In reality, princes turn up in other ways—but the important thing is that they turn up at all.
I have about seventy unread books lying around, and I choose my next read by rolling dice. Coincidence or not, in three days I’m due to receive my own redundancy notice. The office will close, and I’m still looking for a new owner for our office printer. I can’t help but wonder what will happen to it. Very strange…
At first, I found the story a bit cheesy. But when the perspective shifted to the printer’s point of view, something clicked for me.
Overall, it’s an entertaining novel with a quintessential anti-heroine, one of many such figures in our society. It’s also a sharp commentary on how the privileged treat the less privileged, and how both people and objects are discarded when deemed unnecessary. A pointed, often amusing study of today’s office environment.

Author: Fien Veldman (born 1990) is a Dutch author.
Hard Copy was her debut novel.

Viel – Tanguy Viel: Paris-Brest

Wagenbach, K

Purchased from: Buchhaus Wittwer-Thalia, Stuttgart, Germany

Louis’ family teeters on the edge of collapse: his mother is a relentless control freak, and his father stands accused of embezzling a hefty sum of francs. To escape the scandal, the family moves away — all except Louis, who remains in Brest with his grandmother, recently enriched by a substantial inheritance.
There he meets Kermeur, the son of his grandmother’s cleaning lady, whose influence soon leads Louis into all kinds of trouble. 
From the very first page, the description of Brest captures the city so perfectly that it’s hard to imagine it being put more precisely.
Although I usually prefer to read novels in their original language, I made an exception for Tanguy Viel’s Paris-Brest and read it in German. It was 140 pages of pure, sharp, and thoroughly enjoyable storytelling.

Author: Tanguy Viel (born 1973) is a Breton author best known for his crime novels, often tinged with the mood and style of film noir. 
There’s something about his appearance that strikes me as distinctly Belgian, though don’t ask me to explain exactly what I mean by that…

von Schirach – Ferdinand von Schirach: Sie sagt. Er sagt.

btb

Purchased from: Buchhandlung Kronengasse, Aarau, Switzerland

Katharina Schlüter, celebrated TV presenter, polished, untouchable, steps into the courtroom and accuses her long-time lover, the powerful industrialist Dr. Thiede, of rape. Both are married. For years, their affair was hidden from the world until, she claims, one day he crossed a line and turned violent.
That day she wore the Chanel dress he once gave her. She didn’t go to the police immediately, not for days.
Now, it’s her word against his.
The entire story unfolds within the tense confines of the courtroom. Every glance, every hesitation, every carefully chosen word pulls the reader into the trial. You hear the testimony. You weigh the evidence. And with each twist, you find your certainty slipping away.
My mind kept swinging back and forth between them. The writing was brilliant, I couldn’t put the book down. The structure is masterfully designed; I found myself forming a judgment almost immediately, only to have that certainty unravel. By the end, I was left with more questions than answers.
And yet… it isn’t over.

Author: Ferdinand von Schirach (born 1964) is a German author and lawyer specialising in criminal law, expertise that underpins the sharp legal detail in the novel reviewed above. Since 2023, he has also taken to the stage, touring with his one-man theatre piece Regen (Rain), in which he performs himself.

vor Schulte – Stefanie vor Schulte: Junge mit schwarzem Hahn (Boy with a Black Rooster)

Diogenes

Purchased from: Badebuchhandlung Rolf F. Klaumann, Westerland, Germany

Eleven-year-old Martin lives on the edge of a small village, shunned by its superstitious residents. They exploit him, yet fear his only companion, a black rooster they believe to be in league with the devil. The sole survivor of his family, Martin leads a lonely, secluded life, his heart set only on one person: Marie.
One day, a travelling painter passes through and sees something special in him. Martin joins the painter on his journey and, through quick thinking and circumstance, becomes a reluctant hero.
The novel unfolds like a modern fairy tale, written in luminous, lyrical prose. One line, in particular, stayed with me:
“They gaze up into the glittering darkness, into all this splendour that is not made for man, for he is supposed to be asleep at this time of night.”
While the storytelling is beautiful, I found the plot a little short on surprises, especially toward the end, which tempered my overall rating.

Author: Stefanie vor Schulte (born 1974) is a German author.
Junge mit schwarzem Hahn was her debut novel.

Weiler – Der Markisenmann

Heyne

Purchased from: Buchhandlung Klosterplatz, Olten, Switzerland

Fifteen-year-old Kim has never met her father. She lives with her mother, her stepbrother, and her wealthy stepfather, Heiko, in an atmosphere of luxury — but also of indifference. Kim is tolerated, never truly loved. One day, pushed beyond her limits, she lashes out and seriously injures her little half-brother.
Sent to a psychiatric ward, Kim is later “punished” by being left with her biological father, Ronald Papen, while the rest of the family travels to the U.S. Papen lives simply, working as a struggling awning salesman. On her first day, Kim considers running away. Papen's friends are down-to-earth, working-class people — nothing like the world she knows. Slowly, she warms to them and to a young man who gives her the attention she’s always craved.
As the summer unfolds, Kim joins Papen on his sales trips, and the two begin to bond. Yet one mystery haunts her: her parents and Heiko were once close friends. What tore them apart? Piece by piece, Kim learns why she was kept from her father, and how that rift stood between them like the Berlin Wall. The wall itself plays an role in the truth she uncovers.
This novel moved me from the very first page. Despite the potentially sentimental premise, the father–daughter story felt genuine and unsentimental. Jan Weiler’s language is rich with metaphors and vivid imagery — I could see the scenes unfold. One moment that stayed with me was when Kim poured water into a puddle so it wouldn’t dry out; on her last day, it rained, and the puddle no longer needed her.
I cried through the final forty pages, a rare thing for me. In fact, I couldn’t help but think of two bookshops I visited in Olten, one large and the little one on Klosterplatz. Looking back, they feel like the two “fathers” in this story, and I can even guess where one of them got the awnings.

Author: Jan Weiler (born 1967) is a German author from Düsseldorf. His debut novel, Maria, ihm schmeckt’s nicht! (Maria, He Doesn’t Like It!), grew out of a short story he had published in the Süddeutsche Zeitung magazine, where he once served as editor-in-chief. 
He also narrates the audiobook editions of his own novels.

Wellemin – Nicole Wellemin: Späte Ernte

Piper

Purchased from: Bücher von Matt Stans, Stans, Switzerland

While travelling in South Tyrol with unsuitable footwear, Lis is caught in a sudden thunderstorm and takes a fall. She’s found by Anna, the granddaughter of Lene, a woman who, in the 1940s, dreamed of an idyllic life on a mountain farm with her great love. The reality, however, was far harsher.
Anna now runs the family farm, cultivating old apple varieties and pressing juice from them. She quickly senses that Lis is running from something. Lis ends up staying for a while, and a friendship blossoms between the two women. Yet Anna, too, harbours a past, one tied to a secret that reaches back to the Second World War.
For me, this was a fairly typical women’s novel, with long-winded details that slowed the pace. Chapter 7, in particular, was a low point: it read as if the author had done extensive research on apple cultivation and then poured all of it into the narrative, whether it served the story or not. If there were an award for the most tedious book I’ve read, this one would be a strong contender.

Author: Nicole Wellemin (born 1979) is a German author.
After years working in public relations, she has been a full-time writer since 2015. 

Werner – Markus Werner: Am Hang

S. Fischer

Purchased from: Bücher Scheidegger, Affoltern am Albis, Switzerland

Thomas Clarin spends the Pentecost weekend in Ticino. He owns a house in Agra, above Montagnola, where Hermann Hesse once lived. What Clarin does not yet know when he arrives is that a verse by Hesse will later offer him an unexpected answer.
During the Pentecost holidays, the lawyer Clarin is meant to complete an essay on the legal history of marriage and divorce for a legal journal, an obligation that quietly weighs on him throughout the weekend.
Shortly after his arrival, he sets out again and drives to the Hotel Bellevue in Montagnola. The June evening is warm and mild.
Disappointed, he realizes that not a single table on the terrace is still available. Reluctantly, he joins a gentleman who is sitting alone at a table meant for four, an encounter that soon proves to be anything but accidental. Clarin and his namesake share a past that gradually comes to light...
I found the meeting between the two men and the gradual unravelling of their shared history gripping and intriguing, even though I sensed fairly early on how the story would unfold. I was particularly drawn to the raw, almost austere atmosphere that exists exclusively between men, rendered with great intensity and mood. The ending prompted me to reread the opening: the circle closes neatly, uniting the characters and the Pentecost weekend itself.
The only aspect I found less convincing were the dialogues, which follow the same sentence structure for both characters. However, this is characteristic of Markus Werner’s style and ultimately a matter of personal taste.

Author: Markus Werner (1944–2016) was a Swiss writer from Eschlikon in the canton of Thurgau. Like many Swiss authors, he had a warmth and approachability that drew readers in. Before dedicating himself entirely to literature in 1990, he worked as a secondary school teacher. His novels enjoyed great success and were translated into numerous languages, yet Werner himself preferred to stay out of the public spotlight.

Whitaker – Chris Whitaker: Von hier bis zum Anfang (We begin at the end)

Piper

Purchased from: Weltbild, Winterthur, Switzerland

Cape Haven is a quiet town on the Californian coast until tragedy strikes. A young girl is found dead, and her sister Star never recovers from the loss.
Thirty years later, Star is still struggling, now a mother of two. Her 13-year-old daughter, Duchess, has taken on the role of caring for her younger brother, Robin.
When Vincent, the man convicted of the decades-old murder, is released from prison, it doesn’t take long before he’s caught up in another killing, this time, Star’s. Only Vincent’s childhood friend, Police Chief Walk, is determined to protect him.
Orphaned and uprooted, Duchess and Robin are sent first to their grandfather, then to a foster family, and eventually to a children’s home. But Duchess is determined to uncover her mother’s killer and what she finds is not what she expected.
I especially loved the bond between the two children; it’s tender and resilient. The connection between Vincent and Duchess, however, felt somewhat predictable. For me, the most compelling character was Walk, the policeman caught between loyalty and justice.
Overall, this is an engaging story with both emotional highs and slower moments — a gripping small-town drama that blends mystery, tragedy, and hope.

Author: Chris Whitaker is an English author who began his career in finance as a trader. His early adulthood was marked by trauma, at 19, he was stabbed, endured a painful breakup, and turned to alcohol and drugs to cope. These days, however, his drink of choice is a good cup of tea. A devoted snooker fan, he attends the World Snooker Championships in Sheffield every year.

Wolf – Iris Wolff: Lichtungen

Klett Cotta

Purchased from: Bücherdeele im Kaamp-Hüs, Kampen, Germany

After an accident, eleven-year-old Lev is confined to bed for weeks. The artistically gifted but socially shunned Kato is tasked with bringing him his homework. In a Romania opening up to an increasingly connected Europe, a bond forms between the two.
Years later, Kato has long since moved west and works as a street artist, while Lev remains in Romania, employed at a sawmill. Their lives could hardly have taken more different paths, until one day a postcard arrives from Zurich bearing just four words: When are you coming?
I’ve seen this book recommended in several shops, so I assume it has resonated with many readers. It is beautifully produced, and the title alone gave me a certain impression when I bought it, but I suspected it might not be my kind of literary narrative, and I was right.
This story of friendship, family, and identity left me unmoved. Told in reverse chronology, the novel ends without looping back to its beginning. I read it as if in a fog, letting sentences and pages drift past without feeling. More than once, I caught myself checking how many pages remained.
Even the opening, set in a part of Zurich I pass regularly, failed to connect with me. I could not see, in my own mind, the images the novel tried to paint.

Author:  Iris Wolff (born 1977) is a German author. She grew up in Romania as part of the Transylvanian Saxon community before emigrating to Germany in 1985. Her novels often explore themes of belonging and identity.

Woolf – Virginia Woolf: To the Lighthouse

Penguin Books Australia

Purchased from: Shakespeare & Company, Vienna, Austria

To the Lighthouse is set mainly on an island off the Scottish coast and follows the Ramsay family and their friends during summer holidays at a seaside house. The novel is divided into three parts: The Window, Time Passes, and The Lighthouse.
In the first part, a single day unfolds, focusing on young James Ramsay’s longing to visit the lighthouse with his father. Mrs. Ramsay, warm-hearted and caring, promises the trip, while Mr. Ramsay, strict and rational, doubts it will happen because the weather might change. This section dwells on the relationships and tensions among the characters.
The second part spans the First World War, during which several characters die, including Mrs. Ramsay.
In the final part, many years later, the family returns, and the long-delayed trip to the lighthouse finally takes place. Much of the focus shifts to Lily, who is determined to complete her painting. It is is about reconciliation with the past, with people lost and with one’s own unfinished work (Lily’s painting being a mirror to Woolf’s own artistic process).
Personally, I found the story lacking. It concentrated too heavily on relationships and tensions. But not in a tangible way. To be honest, I grew a little bored while reading. It was rather a literary self-portrait in disguise than a story.

Author: Virginia Woolf (born Virginia Stephen in London in 1882) is regarded as one of the most important English authors of all time. Born into an upper-class family, she and her sister Vanessa founded the Bloomsbury Group before the First World War. Within that circle she met her husband, and together they established a publishing house that released many of her works.

Würger – Takis Würger: Für Polina

Diogenes

Purchased from: Buchhandlung kleingedrucktes, Erfurt, Germany

Fritzi Prager travels by train and hitchhikes all the way to Lucca in Tuscany. She is about to graduate from high school and plans to study law in Munich. While in Italy, however, she has a brief encounter with an older man that changes the course of her life: Fritzi becomes pregnant and gives birth to Hannes Prager.
Hannes is an extraordinary child in many ways, but above all, he possesses an exceptional gift for music. Fritzi moves with him to the moors, where she manages to rent a room from an equally unconventional man. They are regularly visited by Günes and her daughter Polina. The two mothers had shared a hospital room after giving birth and have remained friends ever since. But the bond that develops between their children becomes much deeper. As Hannes grows older, his feelings for Polina turn into love, which he expresses in the way that comes most naturally to him: through a composition written especially for her.
When Hannes’s mother dies tragically, his life changes dramatically. He loses touch with Polina for years and eventually finds work as a piano mover, a job far too physically demanding for him, which ultimately leads to an accident. Yet, unexpectedly, this work and the people he meets through it also lead him back to music and to the stage. Could this be his way of finding Polina again?

The novel is wonderfully fluid and a pleasure to read, something I have come to associate with Diogenes books. Although Hannes himself felt distinctly German to me, I found the plot and its structure a little too American at times; in places, it felt more like a Hollywood movie than a novel. Nevertheless, I really liked Hannes as a character and felt very close to him as I followed him through the different stages of his life. Definitely worth reading.

Author: Takis Würger (born 1985) is a German writer and journalist. He has covered conflicts in war-torn countries for the news magazine Der Spiegel and has received several awards for his reporting.

Yonnet – Jacques Yonnet: Rue des Maléfices

Phebus

Purchased from: Librairie Le Piéton de Paris, Paris, France

Rue des Maléfices is not so much a novel as it is a literary snapshot of the Parisian neighbourhood around Rue Mouffetard during the German occupation. A chronicle, really. Less plot-driven narrative, more atmospheric time capsule.
The book paints its picture through memories of Paris and its inhabitants, their encounters, their hardships, their small, strange moments. These are mystical and tragic stories of cold and hunger, but also strikingly raw accounts of survival. The tone shifts between the poetic and the painfully real, sometimes within the same paragraph, occasionally within the same sentence.
The bookseller who recommended it spoke of it with fervour. And apparently, she wasn’t alone: even literary heavyweights such as Raymond Queneau sang its praises.
Originally it was titled Enchantements sur Paris.
I must confess, however, that I was completely overwhelmed. There were passages I could vividly imagine, scenes that felt cinematic and alive. But unfortunately, these moments were islands in a sea of bewilderment.
Some sentences I read three or four times. Slowly. Out loud. With conviction. And still — nothing. They remained stubbornly opaque. Take, for example:

“Et ben nozigues, c'est vingt et un canons qu'on va se carrer darjère la cravetouze!”

Even after consulting a translation program, which I suspect also gave up halfway through, the sentence refused to reveal its secrets. At some point, I had to accept that not only my French, but possibly also my intellectual stamina, had met their match.
Briefly, I even considered making a special trip back to Paris to return to that charming little bookstore and purchase somethin gentler. Perhaps something with fewer “nozigues” and more verbs I recognize.
Reading this book felt so exhausting. The pages stretched like months.
By the time I reached the final word, I felt bewildered but oddly triumphant, clutching the book as proof that I had, against all odds and all “nozigues,” actually made it to the end!

Author: Jacques Yonnet (1915–1974) was a French writer and poet best known for his sole novel, Rue des Maléfices. During the German occupation of France in the Second World War, he was an active member of the Resistance.