top of page

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.

​

Know More

BOOK TITLE

AUTHOR

TRANSLATOR

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.

PREVIEW (PAGES 1-4)

PREVIEW (PAGES 1-4)

SOMETHING YOU'LL HATE ME FOR

SOMETHING YOU'LL HATE ME FOR

NOMINATED FOR THE STREGA PRIZE 2025
 
A lyrical and intimate account of a mother's last journey by the author of Thirsty Sea.
 
When Erica’s dream career as an indie singer is about to launch, her mother, Lucia, needs to tell her ‘something you'll hate me for’. Erica fears it refers to her plan to live with the man she loves. But against all odds, Lucia tells Erica that her life is approaching the end.
 
During nine months, Lucia shares her final journey in a diary. Years later, Erica finally finds the courage to read her mother's notes, to retrace the nine months of her mother's illness just as she embarks on the journey to become a mother.
 
Erica’s lyrical story is born from Lucia's intimate words in an attempt to exorcise pain and fear. In this tender exchange of voices, Erica rediscovers her own mother, while discovering herself as 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.
    bottom of page