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Start giftingBeside Myself
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Learn moreBeside Myself is the disturbing and exhilarating story of a family across four generations.
At its heart is one woman’s search for her twin brother. When Anton goes missing, and the only clue is a postcard sent from Istanbul, Alissa leaves her life in Berlin to find him. Without her twin, the sharer of her memories and the mirror of her own self, Ali is lost.
In a city steeped in political and social changes, where you can buy gender-changing drugs on the street, Ali’s search—for her missing brother, for her identity—will take her on a journey for connection and belonging.
Beside Myself is a brilliant literary debut about belonging, about family and love, and about the enigmatic nature of identity.
Sasha Marianna Salzmann is a playwright, essayist, curator, and writer in residence of the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin. She is the cofounder of the culture magazine freitext and was the artistic director of Studio Я. Her work has been translated, shown, and bestowed awards in more than twenty countries. Beside Myself is her first novel, and was short-listed for the 2017 German Book Prize.
Imogen Taylor is a talented translator.
Reviews
“Fiction at its highest purpose—a debut novel that comes straight from the gates like a raging bull…Beside Myself reads like a classic, and is yet refreshingly modern…[It] beautifully interweaves four generations of characters of different ages, times, places, languages, and genders.”
“Salzmann’s brisk storytelling builds into a sort of brilliant literary labyrinth, one where the sanctuary of belonging remains an elusive, transient, and constantly evolving thing.”
“Beautifully written despite the darkness of its story and texture. There are hundreds of glimpses of worlds inside worlds…Beside Myself is both a cool thriller, and a meditation on family.”
“Salzmann thoughtfully and cleverly addresses the themes of memory, identity, and migration, asking if language, nationality, or gender are important for our self-definition…[An] at times quirky, at times graphic tale of lost and found.”
“A compelling journey of discovery and change.”
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