The Late Life

What can death teach us about life? '' Treading carefully on thin ice, that was the only way . . . '' At seventy-six, Martin is devoted to his family life with his young wife and six-year-old son when he suddenly learns that he has only a few months to live. Shocked, he searches for answers, wrestling with his feelings and existential questions about his legacy, the meaning of his love and what can be achieved in the short time he has left. Martin wants to do everything right, but later life is full of surprises and unforeseen challenges that he must face. The Late Life is a story of navigating family, guilt, love and loss from Bernhard Schlink, one of the most masterful novelists of our age. Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins

Autorentext

BERNHARD SCHLINK was born in Germany in 1944. A professor emeritus of law at Humboldt University, Berlin, and Cardozo Law School, New York, he is the author of the internationally bestselling novels The Reader, which became an Oscar-winning film starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes, and The Woman on the Stairs. His latest novel, Olga, was a no.1 international bestseller. He lives in Berlin and New York.

Klappentext

What can death teach us about life?

'One of the greatest achievements of the author of The Reader' Les Echos
'Schlink's novel belongs alongside Julian Barnes's. It sounds like a farewell' Le Figaro littéraire
'Masterful' Süddeutsche Zeitung

At seventy-six, Martin Brehm is, by his own measure, content. He tends his garden, writes, and cares for his six-year-old son, David, while his much younger wife pursues her work as a painter. Their life, though unconventional, feels complete - until a diagnosis of terminal cancer gives him only months to live.

Confronted with the certainty of his death, Martin becomes determined to secure a future for those he loves and leave behind something lasting. But as his plans unfold, he begins to question what it truly means to give. What will remain a gift and what will become a burden?

In the final season of his life, Martin must face the limits of intention and the necessity of letting go. The Late Life is a tender, searching and quietly profound novel that explores how to live fully at the edge of death, the value of a good death and how to leave, well.

'One of Germany's most celebrated and popular writers' Financial Times

Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins