Reading & Conversation - Dorothee Elmiger "The Dutch Women"

The Dutch Women
Dorothee Elmiger's visually powerful novel – a gripping experience. Those who enter this text fall into the abyss of our world and gaze with wide-open eyes into the darkness.
Awarded the German Book Prize, the Swiss Book Prize, and the Bavarian Book Prize 2025.

With flashing warning lights, the narrator, a nameless writer, pulls over to the side of the road when an unexpected call reaches her. On the line is a celebrated theater maker who tries to recruit her for his latest project – a play set in the tropics, the reconstruction of a case. A few weeks later, she sets off to join the theater group on their journey deep into the jungle. Dorothee Elmiger tells a disturbing story of people and monsters, of fear and violence, of lostness in the universe, and of the failure of narratives.

Dorothee Elmiger, born in 1985 in Switzerland, lives as a freelance author and translator in New York. Her books "Invitation to the Daring" (2010), "Sleepwalkers" (2014), and "From the Sugar Factory" (2020) have been translated into numerous languages, adapted for the stage, and have received multiple awards. Her novel "The Dutch Women" received the German Book Prize, the Bavarian Book Prize, and the Swiss Book Prize in 2025.
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