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A bestselling German novel about two women connected by their experiences in and around a special old house.
All her life Vera has felt like a stranger in the old and drafty half-timbered farmhouse she arrived at as a five-year-old refugee from East Prussia in 1945, and yet she can't seem to let it go. Sixty years later, her niece Anne suddenly shows up at her door with her small son. Anne has fled the trendy Hamburg neighborhood she never fit into after her relationship imploded. Vera and Anne are strangers to each other but have much more in common than they think. As the two strong-willed and very different women share the great old house, they find what they have never thought to search for: a family.
Told in skillfully crafted alternating points of view and a nonlinear storyline, Dörte Hansen's internationally bestselling debut novel showcases her impressive talent for characterization and dialogue in an exceptional book that combines emotional depth and humor. The author's sparse language and sometimes oblique references make for a deeply immersive reading experience, and the characters will resonate long after the last page has been turned.
"Though the narrative is perhaps a bit familiar, Hansen makes this story about the process of healing affecting, real, and memorable." - Publishers Weekly
"A best-seller in Germany, Hansen's book melds poignancy and wry humor to explore the meaning of family and home." - Booklist
"Hansen's debut novel was a surprise bestseller in Germany but will probably find a cooler reception here." - Kirkus
"A very expressive debut." - The Huffington Post
"A little wonder of a book."- Grazia (UK)
"Wonderfully entertaining but also a profound story with strong characters. A special book." - Die Zeit (Germany)
"Intelligent, gripping, written in beautiful language. The best book of the season."- Stern magazine (Germany)
"A beautiful, profound novel about the families we are born into and the ones we create." - Tatjana Soli, New York Times bestselling author of The Lotus Eaters
"This House Is Mine is deeply atmospheric - a dynamic mix of humor and melancholy." - Erika Swyler, author of The Book of Speculation
This information about This House Is Mine was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Dörte Hansen was born in Husum in northern Germany. She studied languages and completed a Ph.D. in linguistics. She then turned to journalism, spent several years working as a radio editor, and is now an author for radio and print. This House Is Mine is her first novel.
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