WHERE THE CAT MOUNTAINS RISE

  • The celebrated debut novel of a masterful storyteller.
  • 35,000 copies sold, with rights sold to Italy (Gran Via) and Sweden (Thorén och Lindskog).
  • Winner of the Mara Cassens Prize for Best Debut Novel of the Year, the Nicolas Born Prize, and the Anna Seghers Prize.

Berlin-based journalist Nele Leibert travels to the mist-shrouded province of Lower Silesia for her grandfather's funeral. But saying goodbye to the family patriarch is only the beginning of her journey. Nele soon realizes that the silence of her revered yet headstrong “Djadjo” has left deep fractures that reach into the present day. Driven by a dark suspicion, she follows the ghosts of the past all the way to Galicia - the origin of her family's flight and displacement.
A powerful exploration of memory, trauma, and the secrets that shape generations.

Sabrina Janesch draws from Polish myths and traditional folklore, masterfully weaving them into the defining themes of our time.

“This narrative possesses immense tension and power.” Der Spiegel

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  • Publisher: Rowohlt Taschenbuch
  • Release: 18.09.2026
  • ISBN: 978-3-499-02015-5
  • 304 Pages
  • Author: Sabrina Janesch

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Buchcover von WHERE THE CAT MOUNTAINS RISE
Sabrina JaneschWHERE THE CAT MOUNTAINS RISE
Portrait von Sabrina Janesch
© Jana Mai
Sabrina Janesch

Born in 1985, Sabrina Janesch studied cultural journalism at the University of Hildesheim and polonistics at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Her novel Katzenberge was published in 2010, with Ambra (2012), Tango für einen Hund (2014),  Die goldene Stadt (2017) and Sibir (2023) following. Sabrina Janesch has been awarded many prizes for her literary work, including the Mara Cassens Prize, the Nicolas Born Prize and the Anna Seghers Prize. She was a resident writer at New York’s Ledig House and held the post of official writer of the city of Gdansk. Sabrina Janesch lives with her family in Münster.