Vor aller Augen, before everyone’s eyes, this German language collection of chapters takes us through art history. For a series of famous paintings of women, each story gives voice to the women portrayed outside the artefact’s frame. Sound concept. Some of these vignettes felt contrived however, and some I would have loved to read several chapters more, or a full novel even, to see the story develop. Picked this 2022 book up in a Zurich bookshop in February, after reading the 2021 Die Erfindung des Ungehorsams last year. Clavadetscher (1979) is a Swiss playwright and author. Looking forward to reading more fiction by her.

Read in April 2025.