Zora del Buono

Hinter Büschen, an eine Hauswand gelehnt

«‹Nein, ich bin gegen das Eindeutige, mich interessiert das Unbestimmte, das Dazwischen, eindeutige Beziehungen machen mich krank, ich ersticke darin›, sagte ich.»

Vita ist being questioned by the police. What does she know about Zev? the police are looking for him. Swiss author Zora del Buono tells the story of a middle-aged college professor and her love affair with a student against the backdrop of the Snowden revelations in this short, exciting novel.
In this tightly constructed novella, del Buono ensures that the reader is gripped throughout by interweaving the developping story of Vita's summer at the college with her journey after she has been forced to leave the United States. The main story, told from Vita's perspective, is interrupted by press cuttings from the summer of 2013. We see the NSA scandal unravel as Zev's youthful idealism collides with Vita's more distant attitude. The increasing paranoia of being observed by American intelligence agencies is tangible.
Del Buono tells her story in short, vivid epidsodes, and her narrator is an astute observer of college life and those around her. She is also unflinching and unapologetic in her account of what it is like to be middle-aged woman with a younger lover. «Behind Bushes, Leaning Against the Wall» is a refreshing antdote to love stories and crime thrillers alike.

(Recommended by New Books in German, 40/2016)

Translation of title: Behind Bushes, Leaning Against the Wall

C.H. Beck, München 2016

ISBN: 978-3-406-69690-9