Library

Book of the year Die Holländerinnen

Every week, we present a book from our collection that we find particularly interesting, exciting, educational, or otherwise worth reading. This week, the winner of the 2025 German Book Prize and, in our opinion, one of the best new releases of the year:

Dorothee Elmiger "Die Holländerinnen" (Hanser, Munich 2025)

Dorothee Elmiger's visually stunning novel is a thrilling experience. Anyone who enters this text falls into the abyss of our world and stares wide-eyed into the darkness. Awarded the German Book Prize, the Swiss Book Prize, and the Bavarian Book Prize 2025.

With flashing warning lights, the narrator, an unnamed writer, pulls over to the side of the road when she receives an unexpected phone call. On the line is a celebrated theater director who is trying to recruit her for his latest project—a play set in the tropics, the reconstruction of a case. A few weeks later, she sets off to join the theater group on their journey deep into the jungle. Dorothee Elmiger tells a disturbing story of people and monsters, of fear and violence, of lostness in the universe and the failure of narratives.