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Über den Moment des Zurückschlagens, der alles verändert
Mascha Unterlehberg
WENN WIR LÄCHELN / WHEN WE SMILE
A Novel, 256 pages
Spring 2025
English sample available
A shimmering debut with a deeply ambivalent friendship at its heart
A novel that will move you to your core: clear-cut, masterful, fearless
“Mascha Unterlehberg’s writing is by turns hard and soft, clear-eyed and glittering. This is a novel to make your pulse race and leave you gasping for breath.” Ruth-Maria Thomas
About the Moment of Fighting Back that Changes Everything
Jara stands on an old railway bridge over the river Ruhr, staring into the deep, dark water. Anto was sitting next to her just a moment ago, but now she has jumped into the river and failed to come back up. All Jara can make out from her spot on the bridge is a baseball bat floating stubbornly on the surface; the pair used it the night before to smash a car window.
When Jara first meets Anto, she’s the worst football player on the field, and yet the bravest by far. The pair become friends, and soon their sisterhood evolves into the most important part of their lives: they share lip gloss, cherry cola, and violent fantasies. Every evening, they hatch a new plan; they’ve got the world in their sights and a handle on everything. Until, that is, control begins to slip away from them, piece by piece. Eventually, only one question remains: what to do with all that anger?
Mascha Unterlehberg’s debut novel paints a striking, powerful portrait of a tender friendship forced to contend with pressure from outside and the constant threat of danger – until it’s time to strike back.
WENN WIR LÄCHELN / WHEN WE SMILE
A Novel, 256 pages
Spring 2025
English sample available
A shimmering debut with a deeply ambivalent friendship at its heart
A novel that will move you to your core: clear-cut, masterful, fearless
“Mascha Unterlehberg’s writing is by turns hard and soft, clear-eyed and glittering. This is a novel to make your pulse race and leave you gasping for breath.” Ruth-Maria Thomas
About the Moment of Fighting Back that Changes Everything
Jara stands on an old railway bridge over the river Ruhr, staring into the deep, dark water. Anto was sitting next to her just a moment ago, but now she has jumped into the river and failed to come back up. All Jara can make out from her spot on the bridge is a baseball bat floating stubbornly on the surface; the pair used it the night before to smash a car window.
When Jara first meets Anto, she’s the worst football player on the field, and yet the bravest by far. The pair become friends, and soon their sisterhood evolves into the most important part of their lives: they share lip gloss, cherry cola, and violent fantasies. Every evening, they hatch a new plan; they’ve got the world in their sights and a handle on everything. Until, that is, control begins to slip away from them, piece by piece. Eventually, only one question remains: what to do with all that anger?
Mascha Unterlehberg’s debut novel paints a striking, powerful portrait of a tender friendship forced to contend with pressure from outside and the constant threat of danger – until it’s time to strike back.
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Mascha Unterlehberg
Mascha Unterlehberg was born in Mülheim in 1990 and studied literature and art history in Freiburg, Paris, and at the German Institute for Literature...
Mascha Unterlehberg was born in Mülheim in 1990 and studied literature and art history in Freiburg, Paris, and at the German Institute for Literature in Leipzig. She has worked at theatres across Germany and Switzerland and was a finalist in the 27th open mike. She worked on "When We Smile" as part of the Klagenfurt Literature Course in 2023.