New Swedish Books, Autumn 2017 1
New Swedish Books 14 Astrid Seeberger (b. 1949) G
oodbye, Bucharest Publisher Weyler www.weylerforlag.se Rights Weyler svante@weylerforlag.se Works Den skamlösa nyfikenheten 2010 Nästa år i Berlin Novel 2015 Goodbye, Bucharest Goodbye, Bucharest is a novel about war, imprisonment, and identity. It’s also a story about a Europe that’s tormented by the events of the 20th century. A woman, Astrid, is trying to trace her uncle Bruno. He was a German pilot during the war, his plane was shot down, and he ended up in a Soviet camp. Thanks to his friends and his own stubbornness he managed to survive the extremely harsh conditions, and after the liberation ended up in Bucharest. Her search is difficult, both emotionally and physically, and exposes many secrets. At the same time it leads to questions about what it means to be alive and what the meaning of life is. In spite of the difficult experiences the novel describes it’s a very beautiful and sensual book. Because what we surely wish for is that love and art would have the power to reconcile and, if not completely heal, to at least offer relief. Photo: Sofia-Runarsdotter