Mariana Leky

Every time an animal called okapi appears in Selma’s dream, someone in her village in the Westerwald dies the next day. However, it is not clear until the last moment who should die, and so agonizing hours of fear, all kinds of confessions and strange reactions from the villagers follow. The author skillfully juggles metaphors and intersperses them with her gentle, kind humour, drawing on well-observed everyday situations. Her moving story is a thoughtful meditation on how loss and love may shape people and community. It is about finding a place in the world, even if this place is right where you started.

Published by Prostor, 2021

Mariana Leky (* 1973), a German writer, was first trained as a bookseller, and she later studied German literature, creative writing, and journalism. In 2001, she entered the literary scene and now is the author of a number of prose works. Her novel What You Can See From Here (2019) was on the Spiegel bestseller list for over a year, and it has been translated into fourteen languages so far.