Скачать или смотреть Deirdre McMahon reads from Dirk Kummer's IT'S ONLY SUGAR-SAND (seeking a publisher)

Dirk Kummer’s Alles nur aus Zuckersand, [It’s only Sugar-sand] tells the story of two ten-year-old boys, the narrator, Fred and Jonas, in 1970s East Germany. Friends since kindergarten, their happiness is threatened when Jonas has to leave the GDR with his mother. Fred lives in Falkensee, close to west Berlin with his father, a GDR Customs officer, his mother and his older sister, Ramona. Their elderly neighbour Herr Marek acts as a grandfather to Fred, is always ready for chats and gives him interesting gifts, such as the boomerang featuring in this extract.

Fred’s father, though kind and loving is a Party member while Jonas has an openly Christian mother and his father has died while in political custody. When Jonas’s mother decides to leave, Jonas becomes a dangerous friend for Fred, and his father orders him to break off contact. The boys form a plan to dig a tunnel to Australia so that they can maintain contact and start digging through the sandy floor of the deserted tile factory. When Jonas suddenly gets the call to leave it is as though his very existence has been scrubbed out...

Friendship, loyalty and creativity overcome social and legal constraints.

Author bio
Dirk Kummer was born in 1966 and spent his childhood years in
Falkensee and East Berlin. He is well known as a director and
screenwriter. His film Zuckersand was awarded the Grimme Prize
2018. He lives in Brandenburg.

Translator bio
Deirdre McMahon is based in Dublin and worked for many years as a primary teacher before turning to Literary Translation. Her first book-length translation Nobody can stop Don Carlo by Oliver Scherz was published by Dedalus Books in 2020. Her work has appeared in journals such as No-Mans-Land. She can be contacted at [email protected]

Rights Information
Carlsen Verlag GmbH
Contact: Daniela Steiner
[email protected]
Tel: +49 (0)40 39804 269
www.carlsen.de
The translator has obtained permission from the Rights Holder to translate this sample and share a recording of it on Translators Aloud