What Darkness Was

Germany, 1977. Close to death, an old man collapses and struggles to his bed. The sounds of the endless night unsettle him, triggering images, questions and memories. In What Darkness Was, Inka Parei allows the reader to inhabit a singular German mind. Precise and observant but uncomprehending and on the brink of hysteria the old man wracks his brain as the questions flow like water: Why did he inherit the building he now lives in? Why did he leave the city that was his home for so long? Is he even here voluntarily? And who was that suspicious stranger on the stairs? Lying in bed, the old man is aware that these questions may be the last puzzles he ever solves.

Combining tight prose with a compulsive delight in detail, What Darkness Was presents a dynamic portrait of the West German soul from World War II through the German Autumn of 1977 a series of killings, bombings and robberies by the Baader-Meinhof Gang and other left-wing protest groups.

About the Author

Inka Parei was born in Frankfurt and moved to Berlin in 1987, where she studied German literature and Chinese studies. She now lives in Prenzlauer Berg with her son, writing and tutoring emerging literary talents. Her previous novel, The Shadow-Boxing Woman, is also published by Seagull Books.

About the Translator

Katy Derbyshire is a London-born translator who has lived in Berlin since 1996. She has translated books by Helene Hegemann, Clemens Meyer, Inka Parei, Simon Urban, Dorothee Elmiger and Sibylle Lewitscharoff.