"A portrait of an unlikely and unique friendship. Ewald Arenz’s debut novel unravels the lives of two women with tenderness and hope"
Available in English for the first time, Ewald Arenz’s debut Tasting Sunlight has been on the bestseller list in his native country Germany for three years. Translated by Rachel Ward, the story is set on a rural farm, where two quite different women invertedly become friends. Sally, young and troubled, comes across Liss, an older farmer who takes in the runaway without judgment or demand – and yet neither can know they will form a bond that spans their generational divide. Little by little, their personal stories begin to unfold, and we start to understand the trauma that’s brought them both to this point. This sensitive element is handled so well by Arenz, who brings a sense of hope to their lives, a promise that the sun will rise on the horizon – their taste of sunlight. And for lovers of nature, the writing is a homage to the land, from the seasonal harvest to ripening of the late summer fruit – mirroring the women’s blooming friendship.
| Primary Genre | General Fiction |
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An anorexic teenager escapes from a clinic and forms an unlikely friendship with a farmer. The two damaged women slowly heal as they work the land, in an achingly beautiful debut.
Teenager Sally has just run away from a clinic where she to be treated for anorexia. She's furious with everything and everyone, and wants to be left in peace.
Liss is in her forties, living alone on a large farm that she runs single-handedly. She has little contact with the outside world, and no need for other people.
From their first meeting, Sally realises that Liss isn't like other adults; she expects nothing of Sally and simply accepts who she is, offering her a bed for the night with no questions asked.
That night becomes weeks and then months, as an unlikely friendship develops and these two damaged women slowly open up - connecting to each other, reconnecting with themselves, and facing the darkness in their pasts through their shared work on the land.
Achingly beautiful, profound, invigorating and uplifting, Tasting Sunlight is a story of friendship across generations, of love and acceptance, of the power of nature to heal and transform, and the goodness that surrounds us, if only we take time to see it...
Tasting Sunlight features in the following genres: Fiction in translation, Family Drama, General Fiction, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Narrative theme: Coming of age, Narrative theme: Social issues, Narrative theme: Sense of place, Narrative theme: Death, grief, loss, Fiction, Fiction: special features, Fiction: narrative themes, eBooks of the Month, Recommendations
Tasting Sunlight is available in Paperback, Ebook (Epub)
Tasting Sunlight was written by Ewald Arenz and published by Orenda Books
£5.99
