Summary of Visitation
Jenny Erpenbeck’s novella “Visitation” tells the story of a summerhouse by a lake in Brandenburg (ikely Schermützelsee) and the lives of its various inhabitants. Spanning from the 1930s, when a Jewish family is forced to sell their property, the story unfolds through its subsequent occupants during key periods of 20th century German history including the Second World War, the Communist GDR (DDR) era, and the revolution of 1989. It is a moving and poetic book that explores themes of exile, identity, and the passage of time.
Reasons to read Visitation
“Visitation” offers readers a glimpse into recent German history, without ever feeling like a history lesson. Jenny Erpenbeck is one of Germany’s most acclaimed contemporary authors. She won many literary awards, including the International Booker Prize (for her novel “Kairos”), the Thomas Mann Prize, the Hans Fallada Prize, the Independent Foreign Fiction Price (for her novel “The End of Days”), the Premio Strega Europeo, and the European Literature Prize (for “The End of Days”). Another notable work by Erpenbeck is “Go Went Gone”. The Guardian included “Visitation” in its list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. Readers who enjoy this book may also appreciate “The house by the Lake” by Thomas Harding.
Original title: Heimsuchung
Year of publication: 2008
Nr of pages: 150
