Anne Sauer: Im Leben nebenan

In the organizer's words:

One morning, Toni doesn't wake up next to her long-term boyfriend in her small old apartment as usual because the floorboards creak and the neighbors are far too loud. No. To her surprise, she finds herself in a spacious apartment. Everything is bright, tidy and expensively furnished. And the view from the window? Strangely familiar. Antonia realizes that she is back in the village of her childhood. Little by little, she learns that she leads a tranquil life here, a middle-class life, with a car outside the door, her mother-in-law next door and a child on her lap. A child on her lap? Antonia can't stop being amazed. Is that her baby? And the father too? Apparently her first great love - a man she could never quite forget.

Anne Sauer tells the story of how your own life could have turned out if you hadn't taken that one decisive turn. 'Im Leben nebenan' mirrors two scenarios of a young woman's life, alternating between two versions of a life and, with humor, emotion and lightness, takes a look at the horror of wanted and unwanted motherhood: the great happiness of having a child, but also of living without a child.

Nominated for the aspekte Literature Prize 2025.

Anne Sauer (*1989) is a freelance author and presenter based in Hamburg. She is part of literary juries and has been recommending current contemporary literature for many years, including in the podcast 'MONATSLESE' or as @fuxbooks on Instagram. Her highly acclaimed essay on Taylor Swift was published in 2024. 'Im Leben nebenan' is her debut novel, which went straight onto the SPIEGEL bestseller list and was nominated for the aspekte Literature Prize and the Harbour Front Debut Prize.