German / Germany
Nach vorn, nach Süden
(Forward, to the south)
Jäger, Sarah
(text)
Hamburg: Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, 2020. – 223 p.
ISBN 978-3-499-00239-7
Coming of age | Outsider | Travelling | Belonging | Self-esteem | Road novel
Reading age: 14+
White Ravens issue: 2020
Duckbutt. That’s the narrator’s not very flattering nickname. She works at the local supermarket and hangs out in the backyard with the other temps. Minus one person: Jo. He disappeared. Marie, his (maybe ex-) girlfriend, is dying to know what’s going on. Thus Marie, Can, Vika, and her little daughter, Fine, and the narrator slope off in a rickety old car. The only reason the narrator is part of the crew is that the car is hers, but in a way also because Jo gave her the nickname. In the July heat, they ride through villages without money, without a plan. Inevitably, they get to know each other better, share secrets, get on each other’s nerves, and make the odd, unexpected encounter. Telling coming-of-age stories “on the road” is a classic. Sarah Jäger’s debut novel stands out for its narrator, who, although she seems rational to the point of being uptight, has an eye for acute observation and sharp wit that surfaces more and more. [IG]