Synopses & Reviews
An award-winning photographer and journalist now turns his eye for the telling detail of character and culture onto the page with this exuberant, deeply enchanting debut novel--at once whimsical and suspenseful--that has already been acclaimed across Europe and sold in more than a dozen countries worldwide.November 1957: Communism rules in Eastern Europe, but the tiny village of Baia Luna, nestled in the Carpathian mountains, is a world unto itself. Fifteen-year-old Pavel Botev attends the small village school with all the other children. Their sole teacher, Angela Barbulescu--a red-faced drunk who usually arrives at school late and hung over--was sent to the village (or more likely exiled there) by the Ministry of Education. And while it appears that she was once a beauty and lived a highly cultured life, most of her past remains hidden. But when she asks Pavel to hang a photo of the new Party Secretary, she whispers a startling directive into his ear: "Send this man straight to hell. Exterminate him." By the next morning, she has disappeared. With his school days suddenly ended, Pavel sets himself on a mission to discover what she meant and why she said it--a course that will change his life forever.
About the Author
Rolf Bauerdick was born in 1957. He studied literature and theology before turning to journalism and photography. His work has received numerous awards, among them Germany’s prestigious Hansel Mieth Prize. His articles have been published in
Der Spiegel,
GEO, and
Playboy, among other publications. He lives in a converted flour mill in Northern Germany with his wife and children.
The Madonna on the Moon is his first novel.
Translated from the German by David Dollenmayer.