Red Skies

In her searing debut novel, Charlotte Gneuss tells us stories from a country that no longer exists and asks whether innocence in a totalitarian state is possible. Her literary thriller is set in the former East Germany, in the Dresden suburb of Gittersee – a gripping debut from a new talent on the German literary scene. Katrin Köhler is 16, experimenting with red lipstick and in love with Paul, an art school dreamer with a motorbike. But it’s 1976 in the former GDR, Karin’s parents’ marriage is on the verge of collapse as is the family’s Škoda, and Karin juggles school and her romantic life with caring for her toddler sister. When Paul’s road trip adventure leads to his disappearance, two policemen turn up at the family’s door and Karin, under suspicion and under pressure, becomes embroiled in a confusing web of misleading information. Unsure who she can trust, she has to navigate tense situations in which her double life threatens to unravel. Winner of the Aspekte Literary Prize 2023 Winner of the Literary Prize of the Jürgen Ponto Foundation 2023