Parting

Parting Synopsis

'A new-found classic to rival Waugh and Isherwood' Lucy Hughes-Hallett
'Infused with the energy and the zest for life of youth' Philippe Sands
'A marvellous novella. Melancholy, hilarious, dramatic and fateful' Catherine Taylor

Paris, 1932. Two lovers, Raimund and Teddy, have just one day and one night to spend together before Raimund must return to Berlin.

A young German barrister, Raimund has followed the irresistible Teddy to Paris. Teddy moves effortlessly through the city's dazzling, bohemian social scene, where nights dissolve into dancing, cigarettes, aperitifs and plates of pommes frites, and mornings arrive long after noon.

Together, the pair roam through the city's cafés, restaurants and boulevards, from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower. They bicker and flirt, scold and kiss, celebrating their freedom but knowing nothing can remain as it is, as the hour of Raimund's evening train comes ever closer.

Parting is an exquisite autobiographical novel capturing the last fragile moments of love and freedom before exile, fascism and war. Discovered after Sebastian Haffner's death, it became an instant German bestseller and has been hailed as a forgotten literary masterwork.

A W&N Essential translated and with an introduction by Michael Hofmann