Reading by Shida Bazyar

In her new novel "Die Lücken" (Kiepenheuer & Witsch), Shida Bazyar conducts a literary archaeology of the provinces: the novel traverses the past of the fictional town of Heimersbach and delves deeply into the lives of those who shaped this place - Jewish families who lost everything, Nazi profiteers who reinvented themselves as fellow travellers, and families who fled Iran decades later, seeking safety in a place that actively conceals its history. Through a narrative mosaic of shifting times and characters, Bazyar unearths the foundation of a place: the weight of stories, the lies of new beginnings.

Shida Bazyar, born in 1988 in Hermeskeil, was a guest at the European Festival of Debut Novels with her widely translated debut novel "Nachts ist es leise in Teheran" (2016). Her novel "Drei Kameradinnen" (2021) made the longlist for the German Book Prize. The evening is moderated by Alexandra Friedrich.

Organizer: Literaturhaus Schleswig-Holstein. In cooperation with "Der Norden liest", NDR Kultur records the evening and broadcasts it on 13.12.2026 at 20:00 in Sonntagsstudio.