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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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SOMETHING YOU'LL HATE ME FOR

SOMETHING YOU'LL HATE ME FOR

NOMINATED FOR THE STREGA PRIZE 2026
 
A lyrical and intimate account of a mother's last journey by the author of Thirsty Sea. Erica Mou comes back with an uncompromising exploration of the choices we make when life brings us to the edge.
 
Erica is on top of her game. In her early 20s, she can touch stardom with the tips of her fingers. Gigs are more frequent, tours are longer, record sales increase, but when her mother Lucia breaks devastating news, Erica needs to find a way to navigate her demanding career as a singer with an aching heart.
 
In this tender exchange of voices years later, we discover Lucia through the lenses of her own diary, and Erica’s memories. Erica has finally found the courage to retrace her mother's last nine months, just as she embarks in her own journey to become a mother.
 
Erica Mou (Apulia, 1990) is an Italian singersongwriter with numerous international awards and seven studio albums to her name. Her debut novel, Thirsty Sea, made the 2022 TLS Books of the Year list. Something You’ll Hate Me For, which met with critical acclaim in Italy, is her second book.
 
Clarissa Botsford (www.clarissabotsford.com) is a literary translator,musician, and Humanist wedding and funeral celebrant and trainer. In addition to Mou’s Thirsty Sea, her translations include novels by Ardone, Baricco, De Gregori, Dones, Levi, Magrelli and Naspini.
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