Heimsuchung

This novel was Jenny Erpenbeck's international breakthrough. The partly autobiographical stories span generations in a house by a Brandenburg lake, covering the years 1906 to 2002 - from the Weimar Republic through National Socialism and the building of the GDR to German reunification. Erpenbeck weaves together the fates of individuals who, in their respective eras, seek a home on this plot of land.

Each story follows a single life: people with their own distinct views of the world, shaped by the social pressures of their time. The result is a literary narrative that offers strikingly different perspectives on Germany's ambivalent history.

Jenny Erpenbeck was born in 1967 in East Berlin. Her awards include the Hans Fallada Prize (2014), the Thomas Mann Prize (2016) and the Uwe Johnson Prize (2022). In 2024 she became the first German writer to receive the International Booker Prize. She is also a recipient of the Federal Cross of Merit.

A contemporary work featured in the 2027 Zentralabitur curriculum.