THE HAPPY DESTINY

  • Two individuals, two generations captivated by European history.
  • A social novel of great literary force and philosophical depth. Grand contemporary historical storytelling.
  • Der traurige Gast was awarded the 2020 European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), with rights sold to 6 countries.
  • The author has been awarded the 2026 Berlin Literature Prize.

Venice, 1983. She seeks the truth, he seeks oblivion.

“Even the sky above the buildings seemed completely different to her than in Kraków. The smell was different - a kind of perfume? The exhaust fumes seemed like different exhaust fumes.”

The young psychologist Wanda travels to Venice to interview Mrugalski, a scientist long exiled there, about his research. Or is her interest more about his life? A suspicion seems to stand between them. Neither is playing with open cards, yet they are connected by a potentially fateful relationship that points beyond who they are today.

With his new novel, Matthias Nawrat returns to grand contemporary historical storytelling.  Das glückliche Schicksal follows two generations on their path through different systems, leading deep into recent European history and the questions that being human poses to us. Who do we let close? How can we live responsibly? How do happiness and morality intersect when history and bureaucracy determine our fate?

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  • Publisher: Rowohlt Hardcover
  • Release: 13.03.2026
  • ISBN: 978-3-498-00365-4
  • 272 Pages
  • Author: Matthias Nawrat

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Buchcover von THE HAPPY DESTINY
Matthias Nawrat THE HAPPY DESTINY
Portrait von Matthias Nawrat
© Alena Schmick
Matthias Nawrat

Matthias Nawrat was born in the Polish town of Opole and moved with his family to Bamberg at the age of 10. His work is critically acclaimed and has received several awards. For his debut novel  Wir zwei allein (2012) he received the Adelbert-von-Chamisso-Förderpreis among others. His 2014 novel Unternehmer was nominated for the German Book Prize and also garnered Nawrat the Kelag Prize and the Bayern 2 Wordplay Prize. His following novel Die vielen Tode unseres Opas Jurek  (2015) won him the Bremen Literature Prize and the Alfred Döblin Medal. Nawrat‘s fourth novel  Der traurige Gast  was published in 2019. In 2020 he was awarded the EU Prize for Literature. The author lives in Berlin.