Ludwig Unger's life held such promise. His parents were artists and, from an early age, his own musical genius had marked him out for a stellar career in the world's concert halls. In his mother's imagination, Ludwig is already on the way to surpassing her most ambitious dreams for him. But in reality, and for now, he's playing in local cocktail bars and the two of them are living alone in a storm-lashed clifftop cottage in East Anglia. As the forceful winter seas bash away at the coastline, and Ludwig plunks away at the piano, he begins to tell a woman his story- a story of beauty and decay, of a child's faith and parental betrayal, and of the importance, in the end, of self-sacrifice.


Praise for Tommy Wieringa

'A brilliant exploration of the uneasy transition from adolescence into adulthood - the restlessness, yearning for stability, irrational decisions and erotic obsessions.' Independent

'Highly intelligent ... Wieringa will make you think.' TLS

'Poetic, ambitious ... Brave.' The Guardian

'Superb ... A bravura performance.' Irish Times

Translated by Sam Garrett