Over the course of a single evening, a daughter waits with her mother and brother for the return of an authoritarian father whose favourite meal—mussels—is growing cold on the table.

As they wait, her uninterrupted monologue gradually exposes the habits, fears and small accommodations that have structured the family's entire existence. The novel unfolds in one breathless, darkly comic voice that circles around domestic routine until routine itself becomes evidence of coercion.

Often compared to Thomas Bernhard for its relentless monologue and razor-sharp irony, it is also an incisive study of patriarchy, post-war German family life and the quiet mechanics of psychological domination. A modern European classic, beautifully produced by Peirene Press, whose editions have introduced many overlooked works of contemporary translated fiction to English-language readers.

Peirene Press paperback edition. Clean, bright copy with only light shelf wear and an uncreased spine. An excellent copy.