Vom guten Leben und Fischen im Trüben
Lesungen und Gespräche
The writer Nadine Schneider sets her novel *Das gute Leben* in a small village near Nuremberg. This is where Christina grew up, with Anni, who fled from Romania to Germany in the mid-1960s. When Christina, now long grown up, has to say goodbye to her and the house, she follows her memories of Anni and Romania and realises what she owes her: the freedom to let go and to find the place where the good life is at home.
A little further east, the author Elli Unruh sets her story of a German-Mennonite family who lived in the Soviet Union, in southern Kazakhstan, until the late 1980s. She delves into the era of her ancestors, grandparents and parents, and depicts the lives of people who find stability in traditions, religion and their own language. Enriched by the German language that Mennonites from West Prussia brought with them to Russia – Plautdietsch, which is still spoken today – in her novel Fischen im Trüben she unfolds a landscape largely unknown to us, with apple orchards and wild rivers.
A little further east, the author Elli Unruh sets her story of a German-Mennonite family who lived in the Soviet Union, in southern Kazakhstan, until the late 1980s. She delves into the era of her ancestors, grandparents and parents, and depicts the lives of people who find stability in traditions, religion and their own language. Enriched by the German language that Mennonites from West Prussia brought with them to Russia – Plautdietsch, which is still spoken today – in her novel Fischen im Trüben she unfolds a landscape largely unknown to us, with apple orchards and wild rivers.