THE FOREST

"A woman, alone in a remote house in the Alpine foothills. Marian’s primitive autarchy is not of her own choosing. She has lost everything; her former affluent life as a fashion designer was destroyed by a deadly combination of the financial crisis and her own mistakes, driving her business into bankruptcy and herself into complete retreat. Marian’s attempt to find to herself in this house, an inheritance, turns into a fight for survival. And she has to accept that she is no longer independent. Franz, a rich landowner, provides her with the most basic necessities. But not out of pure altruism. The village folk increasingly take a dislike to Marian, an outsider. When she is insulted and threatened, she is forced to confront her situation. Piece by piece, this captivating novel traces the story of Marian’s downfall; her struggle to assert herself in this new yet bizarrely archaic life, is told in a compellingly brisk, candid way. In this intriguing novel, Doris Knecht masterfully displays her uniquely engaging style.

• A woman, a house and the forest. Doris Knecht’s gripping novel about loss and new beginnings.

• Her previous two novels sold 100,000 copies.

• Recommended by New Books in German (Goethe Institute). "