A deft translation of sharp, emotionally intimate stories. I had never heard of Judith Hermann before, but I was really taken with this collection. Her protagonists are thoughtful, observant, often overthinking neurotics, careful cataloguers of their inner lives and the subtle details of the world around them. Each story offers a perceptive, sometimes brutal, illumination of a relationship rendered with quiet precision and psychological depth. The writing (and the translation) feels spare but resonant, with just enough left unsaid to invite deeper reflection. Hermann’s ability to capture emotional nuance and the ambivalence of human connection is striking. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more of Hermann’s work in the future.

Quiet, unsettling, and beautifully atmospheric. Hermann’s collection captures the loneliness, longing, and fractured relationships of women drifting through lives that never quite settle — with precision, subtle dread, and a melancholic pulse. Some stories hit harder than others, but the mood lingers, and it’s a quietly powerful read.