Malé

• Nominated for the German Book Prize 2020

• Roman Ehrlich writes with an urgency unmatched among younger German-language writers
•  Sample translation available

"It is clear that Roman Ehrlich’s books will soon be part of the contemporary German literature canon.’" Zeit Online

All attempts to save the Maldives from the rising sea level have failed. Package tours have moved on to new destinations, and the majority of the island’s inhabitants have been forced to leave. At the same time, the seedy capital of Malé has become a mecca for all the people searching for alternatives to life in the gentrified cities of the west. And so, for the short while before it is submerged, the island becomes a space for the visions of drop-outs, adventurers and utopians, a place suspended between euphoria and nightmares where new forms of solidarity are tested and people vanish without a trace.

In Malé, Roman Ehrlich captures the complex moods of our time and weaves the stories of his characters’ yearnings and failures into a tapestry of all the contradictions that make up life at the start of the 21st century. 

"A literary blossom from the nightshade family, gleaming dark and enigmatic, its author a highly talented illusionist."

FAZ on Das kalte Jahr

“Roman Ehrlich’s novel takes a critical look at contemporary issues, capturing the current atmosphere of nervous angst with laconic precision.”

Lisa Brünig (WDR) on Die fürchterlichen Tage des schrecklichen Grauens