Levi

English sample translation by Jamie Searle available
Nominated for the Bavarian Literature Prize 2019

“When someone died, that wasn’t the end. It wasn’t like everyone thought, because even if my mother wasn’t there anymore, she crept through my bones, and even if I had thrown the urn off the roof, that wouldn’t be the end. There was no end. Ever.”

A tent on the rooftop of a building in Berlin: It’s summer and Levi has run away. His father may still live just a few stories down from Levi’s camp, but he’s never really paid much attention to his son. And now that Levi has stolen his mother’s urn at the funeral, he can’t show his face anymore anyway.
 
In his struggle with loss, the boy seeks out his own allies. There’s the mysterious Vincent, who drives through the city with him and lives in the same building, but hardly reveals anything about himself, except for some shady business. And Kolja, the kiosk owner, who still considers memory loss – brought on with the help of plenty of whiskey – the best way to cope with life. But memories emerge from the past just as stubbornly as Kolja’s pictures from his time as a war photographer, which he continues to develop in a backroom of his kiosk.

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  • Publisher: Galiani-Berlin
  • Release: 22.08.2019
  • ISBN: 978-3-86971-179-9
  • 272 Pages
  • Author: Carmen Buttjer
Levi
Carmen Buttjer Levi
Eden Jetschmann
© Eden Jetschmann
Carmen Buttjer

Carmen Buttjer lebt in Berlin und arbeitet als Schriftstellerin als auch Gestalterin. Sie studierte Industriedesign, seit 2013 wird einer ihrer Entwürfe in Serie hergestellt und durch die Manufaktur Nils Holger Moormann vertrieben. Ihr Roman Levi ist 2019 bei Galiani Berlin erschienen und wurde im gleichen Jahr für den Bayerischen Buchpreis nominiert. Daneben verfasst sie Artikel und Essays für verschiedene Publikationen. Seit Sommer 2022 arbeitet sie unter dem Namen Noa Jaari.