Catch of the Day Ep. 13: »The Travelling Library« by Thomas Montasser read by Alexandra Roesch

In this episode, translator Alexandra Roesch reads an English sample of Thomas Montasser’s »The Travelling Library«.

Vera and Hans meet in the white and blue tram that journeys through Munich as a travelling library - and fall in love. But as a “half-Jew,” Vera must now, in 1937, do everything she can to avoid attracting attention. The same goes for Hans, a socialist. The two hide coded messages for each other in the books of ostracized authors. Thomas Mann, Kästner, Tucholsky: as library books, they become a secret means of survival for Vera and Hans. Until Hans stops coming to the travelling library...

Today: In an old tram car, restorer Sophie comes across faded library cards - and discovers the secret code of a great love.

In »The Travelling Library«, Thomas Montasser draws on motifs and events from his own family history. During the Third Reich, his grandmothers were a maid for a Jewish family and a waitress in one of Hitler's favorite restaurants, respectively, while his grandfathers were a socialist and a communist - and both railroad workers. Thomas Montasser is an author, literary agent, and lecturer in book studies at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. His works have been translated into numerous languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in several countries.

Head to our website to find a pdf of today’s sample here.

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Credits

Text originally published as “Die Wanderbücherei” by Thomas Montasser

Translated and read by Alexandra Roesch

Copyright © S. Fischer Verlag GmbH, Frankfurt am Main 2026

Photo of the author © Mariam Montasser

Concept: Verena von Bassewitz, Martin Butz & Elisa Diallo

Production, Editing & Sound Design: Martin Butz

⁠Impressum

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Catch of the Day Ep. 12: »The New Fascism: Entitlement and the Urge to Destroy« by Eva von Redecker read by Lucy Duggan

In this episode, translator Lucy Duggan reads an English sample of Eva von Redecker’s »The New Fascism: Entitlement and the Urge to Destroy«.

There is a shift to the right around the world, with authoritarian forces gaining power and influence everywhere. And yet the ever-present analogies to the Nazi era come to nothing: contemporary fascism has taken on a new form that is not easy to recognize and even more difficult to explain.

In Redecker's groundbreaking analysis, its diffuse nature takes shape - and becomes vulnerable. She locates its core in the invocation of an unconditional claim to possession, defended at all costs. An enlightening and rebellious book that contrasts solidarity with the prevailing harshness of our times.

"The core of fascism is an unleashed logic of property. Its counterparts are not people, but things; its enemies are not opponents, but thieves." – Eva von Redecker

Eva von Redecker, born in 1982, is a philosopher and freelance author. After periods spent at Humboldt University, Cambridge University, University of Verona and the New School for Social Research in New York, she now writes articles for publications including Die Zeit. Eva von Redecker’s work focuses on critical theory, feminism, and critiques of capitalism. Her most recent publications are »The Freedom to Stay« (2023) and »Revolution for Life« (2020), she also provided the foreword to the German anniversary edition of »Dialectic of Enlightenment«. She grew up on an organic farm, and now lives in rural Brandenburg.

Eva von Redecker's work is translated into Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, French, Greek, Korean, Russian, Spanish.

Head to our website to find a pdf of today’s sample here.

Send feedback and rights inquiries to ⁠foreignrights@fischerverlage.de⁠, or visit our ⁠website⁠ to find the right contact within our team for your territory.

Follow us on Instagram ⁠@s.fischer.foreignrights⁠.

Browse our latest rights guides and our online rights catalogue here⁠.

Subscribe to »Catch of the Day« on your preferred podcast app so you never miss an episode!

Credits

Text originally published as “Dieser Drang nach Härte: Über den neuen Faschismus” by Eva von Redecker

Translated and read by Lucy Duggan

Copyright © 2026 Eva von Redecker

© S. Fischer Verlag GmbH, Frankfurt am Main 2026

Photo of the author © Sophie Brand

Concept: Verena von Bassewitz, Martin Butz & Elisa Diallo

Production, Editing & Sound Design: Martin Butz

⁠Impressum

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Catch of the Day Ep. 11: »What Truly Matters« by Nadine Schneider read by Alexandra Roesch

In this episode, translator Alexandra Roesch reads an English sample of Nadine Schneider’s »What Truly Matters«.

»What Truly Matters« is a sweeping mother-daughter story spanning four generations, a book about farewells, new beginnings, and the work of life.

It is late summer, and the grapes are ripe in the garden when Christina inherits her grandmother Anni's house. Here, in a small village near Nuremberg, she grew up with Anni: Anni, who fled Romania for Germany in the mid-1960s. Anni, who raised her child and grandchild all by herself, packing boxes for a mail-order giant to survive in a booming post-war economy. Who fought loneliness, poverty, and alienation with tenacity, strength, and a sense of duty. Was this the life she had dreamed of? Or did she miss out on life while living it?

Christina hesitantly says goodbye to Anni and her house. In the quiet warmth of the last days of summer, she sinks deeper and deeper into her memories, comes across surprising finds, and also drives to the now abandoned site of the Quelle mail order center. She has cancelled her planned vacation, and only occasional emails from work reach her. Gradually, she realizes what she really owes her grandmother: the freedom to let go and find the place where the good life is at home.

“This language achieves something: it tells a story that is breathless and yet full of tranquility.” - Zsuzsa Bánk

Nadine Schneider, born in Nuremberg in 1990, comes from a Romanian-German family. She studied musicology and German language and literature in Regensburg, Cremona, and Berlin. Her first novel, "Drei Kilometer", won several awards, including the Literature Prize of the City of Fulda. In 2021, she read at the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize. Her second novel, "Wohin ich immer gehe", was published in the same year. Nadine Schneider lives with her family near Nuremberg.

Head to our website to find a pdf of today’s sample here.

Send feedback and rights inquiries to ⁠foreignrights@fischerverlage.de⁠, or visit our ⁠website⁠ to find the right contact within our team for your territory.

Follow us on Instagram ⁠@s.fischer.foreignrights⁠.

Browse our latest rights guides and our online rights catalogue ⁠here⁠.

Subscribe to »Catch of the Day« on your preferred podcast app so you never miss an episode!

Credits

Text originally published as “What Truly Matters” by Nadine Schneider

Translated and read by Alexandra Roesch

Copyright © S. Fischer Verlag GmbH, Frankfurt am Main 2025

Photo of the author © Max Gödecke

Concept: Verena von Bassewitz, Martin Butz & Elisa Diallo

Production, Editing & Sound Design: Martin Butz

⁠Impressum

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.