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ABOUT AUTHOR Laura Vogt (Teufen, 1989) studied creative writing at the Swiss Literature Institute in Biel and Cultural Studies at the University of Luzern. Her first novel So einfach war es zu gehen came out in 2016. She is also the author of numerous short stories and articles as well as lyrical and dramatic texts. She started writing her second novel Was uns betrifft (What Concerns Us) just two months after having her first child. In her work, Laura is particularly interested in exploring the complexity of relationships, maternity, as well as inquiring into the many forms that womanhood can take. She is currently working on her third novel. Laura lives in the canton of St. Gallen.

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DESCRIPTION. Rahel and Fenna are in their late twenties and early thirties. They are sisters. Their mother Vera brought them up by herself. Vera started a series of romantic relationships with other women, and now suffers from breast cancer. Rahel, a jazz singer, is pregnant and single but in love with writer Boris with whom she eventually moves. While she seems to embrace maternity and family life, she falls pregnant from Boris, and her body turns into a complete alienated part of herself. When the baby is born, she rejects maternity; at the same time, she cannot stop breastfeeding the baby. In the meanwhile, Fenna expects a child from Luc, a man who can turn from charming hippy to aggressor in a heartbeat, raping her on a woodland walk well into their relationship. We follow Fenna throughout her complex response, from rage, to acceptance, to feelings of responsibility and guilt. WHAT CONCERNS US is a blunt depiction of pregnancy, sex, maternity and relationships through the lives of two women.

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ABANDONMENT

ABANDONMENT

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 OXFORD-WEIDENFELD PRIZE
 
A recovered gem from the Italian Postcolonial literary canon.
 
At the outbreak of WWII, in the Italian colony of Eritrea, Sellass is deserted by Carlo, father of her two children. Now, rejected by both the local and Italian communities, she needs to find a way to provide the bare essentials for her children, while taking her anger and frustration out on her daughter Marianna. As time passes by, Marianna will eventually wonder about her origins and start looking for her father.
 
*Our edition includes two letters written by the woman who inspired Marianna searching for her father.
 
Abandonment: Recovering Abandoned Histories by Erica L Johnson
 
Erminia Dell'Oro (Asmara, 1938) is the granddaughter of one of the first Italian settlers who arrived in Eritrea in 1886. At the age of twenty she moved to Milan to continue her studies. She visited Asmara, where her family lived, to write articles and reports. Her first book, Asmara Addio (1988) was a great success. She is the author of many books both for adults and children. Currently, Erminia is involved in promoting reading and participates in meetings in various regions of Italy in schools, libraries and prisons.
 
Oonagh Stransky has translated works of fiction by Italian authors Starnone, Montale, Pontiggia, Lucarelli, and Spaziani, and nonfiction by Saviano, Pasolini, and others. Her translations have received English PEN grants, and have been nominated for various awards, including the Dublin Impac Award, the International Booker Prize, the Oxford-Weidenfeld Award, the ALTA IPTA prize, and the Silver Dagger Award.  
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