Alte Sorten

EWALD ARENZ
ALTE SORTEN / TASTING SUNLIGHT
A Novel, ca. 255 pages
SPRING 2019

English sample available
#10 YEAR 2020 BESTSELLER LIST PAPERBACK
MORE THAN 600,000 COPIES SOLD
SHORTLIST INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLER’S FAVOURITE NOVEL 2019

“Ewald Arenz writes in a quiet, literary, but very intense voice about the power of nature that can rebalance people and help them recognize and appreciate the value of the essence of life.
A very beautiful book, and an absolute must read.”
Barbara Strauß, Westdeutsche Allgemeine

"Sensitive, insightful and true to life. A fine little masterpiece."
Dirk Kruse, BAYERISCHER RUNDFUNK

LOOKING FOR A WORLD OF YOUR OWN

Sally and Liss: two women who couldn’t be more different from each other. Just about to take her A-levels, Sally only wants to be left in peace. She is furious with everything and everyone, and she hates it all: suggestions, offers, rules, regulations, adults. What she hates most are questions, particularly about her appearance.
Liss works the farm among fields and vineyards all on her own. At their very first meeting Sally realizes that Liss is different from other adults; no secret studying, no rush judgements, no suspicious questioning.

Liss offers Sally a bed for the night. One night at the farm turns into several weeks.
For Sally the elder woman remains a mystery for a while. What kind of woman is she, never talking about herself, living on her own in the house where you can still feel the presence of others? The two women connect, not so much through conver-sation as through observations and most of all through working together on the farm, in the fields, the woods and the vineyard. And, slowly, they also get to know each others’ injuries.
Atmosphere, images and the description of the landscape with its people sharpen the eye for the essential.


Ewald Arenz, born in Nürnberg in 1965, studied English and American literature and history. He is a teacher at a secondary school in Nürnberg. His novels and plays have received many awards. The author lives near Fürth with his family.

Rights sold to: Rights sold to: Host (Czech), Nieuw Amsterdam (Dutch), Orenda Books (English World); Albin Michel (French); Garzanti (Italian); Yan Pasaj (Turkish);