While We Were Dreaming

Synopsis

Longlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize.

Rico, Mark, Paul, and Daniel were thirteen when the Berlin Wall fell in the autumn of 1989. Growing up in Leipzig during German reunification, they dream of a better life somewhere beyond the brewery quarter. Night after night they roam the streets—partying, rioting, running from their fears, their parents, and the future. They drink, steal cars, feel wrecked, play it cool, and long for real love and true freedom.

Startlingly raw and deeply moving, While We Were Dreaming is an extraordinary coming-of-age novel by one of Germany's most acclaimed contemporary writers, full of passion, rage, hope, and despair.

About the Author

Clemens Meyer is one of Germany's most celebrated contemporary writers. Born in Halle in 1977 and raised in Leipzig, his work explores the lives of those living on the margins of society with remarkable compassion, intensity, and realism. His novels and short fiction have earned numerous literary awards and international acclaim. While We Were Dreaming, translated by Katy Derbyshire, was his debut novel and was longlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize.

Publisher
Fitzcarraldo Editions

Publication Date
25 July 2023

Format
Paperback

Pages
528

Subjects
Literary Fiction · Translated Fiction · Coming of Age · Historical Fiction · German Literature · Post-Reunification Germany

ISBN
9781804270288