Event as part of the 30th Schwerin Literature Days
HALBINSEL - Reading with Kristine Bilkau
A peninsula in the North Frisian Wadden Sea. This is where Annett, in her late forties, lives and where she raised her daughter Linn alone after the early death of her husband. Linn, in her mid-twenties, moved out into the world full of energy after graduating from high school, became an environmental volunteer and works for a reforestation project. For Annett, she is the embodiment of hope, meaning and the future. But at a conference, during a lecture, Linn collapses, her circulation breaks down and she is exhausted. Annett takes her home to the sea. One week turns into two, then three, then months. Torn between the pressure to perform and the search for meaning, Linn seems to be at rock bottom. Annett feels helpless in the face of her daughter's listlessness. Over time, conflicts arise between mother and daughter, but also between two generations. One has to learn to understand the reality of the other's life anew.
With a keen sense of interpersonal relationships, Kristine Bilkau sheds light on the pressing questions about the responsibility of older people for the state of the world and the desire to fill one's own life with meaning.
Kristine Bilkau, born in 1974, studied history and American studies. Her first novel "Die Glücklichen" (The Happy Ones) won several awards and has been translated into several languages. She was shortlisted for the German Book Prize with "Nebenan". "Halbinsel" was awarded the Leipzig Book Fair 2025 Prize. She lives with her family in Hamburg.
Moderator: Kathrin Matern, journalist and bookseller
Thursday
16. October 2025
7:30 pm
Stadtbibliothek in den Schweriner Höfen, Klöresgang 3
Admission
Box office: €14.00 / advance booking: €12.00* (plus fee if applicable)
Organizer
Kulturbüro der State capital Schwerin
