On July 9, 2026, at 7 p.m., the Literature Circle invites you to the Stralsund City Library for a book discussion of *The Imperfection of Love* by Elizabeth Strout. Admission is free.
To mark the 70th birthday of Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout (born January 6, 1956, in Portland, Maine), the Stralsund Literary Circle is reading her Man Booker Prize-nominated novel *The Imperfection of Love* —the first book in the famous Lucy Barton series.
The writer Lucy Barton is in the hospital when her mother unexpectedly appears at her bedside. She stays for five days and nights, telling stories from their shared hometown—and as Lucy listens, her own life emerges layer by layer: her poverty-stricken childhood, her journey to finding her own voice as a writer. A quiet, intense novel about mothers and daughters and the fact that love can only ever remain imperfect.
“Writing of this quality … goes beyond skill and becomes a virtue.”
— Hilary Mantel on “The Imperfection of Love”
Tip: The novel is available at the Stralsund City Library as a printed book and as an e-book via Onleihe.
The literature circle meets on July 9, 2026, at 7 p.m. in the event room of the Stralsund City Library. Admission is free; registration is not required.
As always, new interested participants are warmly welcome!
The Stralsund Literature Circle is an open group of book lovers in cooperation with the Stralsund City Library that meets monthly for literary discussions. The program preview is available at http://www.literaturkreis-stralsund.de.



