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Engagement

Gun-Britt Sundström

Martina and Gustav are university students in 1970s Stockholm when they meet and fall in love. Their relationship quickly becomes an ongoing negotiation over what it means to be a couple: how much time lovers owe each other, whether fidelity is essential, and whether commitment must eventually lead to marriage. Gustav dreams of building a conventional life together, while Martina fears that marriage and domestic expectations will undermine her independence. Over the years, they separate and reunite, repeatedly drawn back to one another despite their incompatible ideas about love. Meanwhile, Martina observes friends settling down, participates in political demonstrations, and explores philosophical ideas in search of a life that feels genuinely her own. With sharp wit, intellectual curiosity and emotional honesty, Sundström challenges romantic conventions without offering easy answers. Both a love story and a feminist examination of personal freedom, Engagement asks whether two people can remain devoted to each other without sacrificing their individuality.

Fall, Bomb, Fall

Fall, Bomb, Fall

Gerrit Kouwenaar

On 10 May 1940, seventeen-year-old Karel Ruis learns that Nazi Germany has invaded the Netherlands. Bored with his sheltered, bourgeois existence, he initially welcomes the upheaval, imagining that the war might bring the adventure and excitement he has been craving. But as German bombs fall and his familiar world begins to collapse, Karel is forced to confront the terrifying reality of war. After undertaking a secret mission to deliver a letter to his uncle’s Jewish mistress, he falls in love with her daughter and dreams of escaping with the two women. His romantic hopes, however, collide with the desperate choices people must make to survive. Drawing partly on Kouwenaar’s own experiences during the Nazi occupation, this poignant novella traces the painful passage from adolescent naivety to adulthood. With understated humour and emotional precision, it reveals how quickly war can destroy illusions and transform ordinary lives.

Netherlands 2025

The City

Valerian Pidmohylnyi

Stepan Radchenko arrives in Kyiv from the Ukrainian countryside with ambitions of studying economics and eventually returning home to help modernise rural life. But the capital soon becomes more than a place of education: it is a world of opportunity, temptation, and reinvention. As Stepan moves from the city’s outskirts into its cultural and literary circles, he pursues success as a writer while navigating a series of romantic relationships that shape his understanding of himself. Gradually, his original ideals give way to ambition, vanity, and a growing desire to conquer the city on his own terms. Kyiv becomes both the setting for his transformation and a force that challenges his sense of belonging. First published in 1928, The City is considered a landmark of modern Ukrainian literature. Combining psychological realism with philosophical reflection, Pidmohylnyi examines urbanisation, social mobility, desire, and the tension between rural origins and modern identity. Stepan’s journey raises a timeless question: when we reinvent ourselves to achieve success, what parts of our original selves do we leave behind?

The Women's Courtyard

The Women's Courtyard

Khadija Mastoor

The Women’s Courtyard follows Aliya, a young Muslim girl growing up in an extended family in the years surrounding the Partition of British India. Much of the family’s life unfolds within the secluded courtyard of their home, where women manage domestic responsibilities, negotiate relationships, and respond to the political changes taking place beyond their walls. While the men become absorbed in the struggle for independence, the women face mounting financial difficulties and the consequences of decisions made largely without their participation. Aliya, meanwhile, longs for an education and a future that extends beyond the limits imposed on her. Through the everyday experiences of the household, Mastur presents a distinctive perspective on a period usually narrated through political leaders and public events. The novel explores gender inequality, family obligations, and women’s quiet determination to claim greater control over their lives.

One, None, and a Hundred Grand

One, None, and a Hundred Grand

Luigi Pirandello

In One, None, and a Hundred Grand, Vitangelo Moscarda discovers that his wife sees his nose as slightly crooked, a detail he has never noticed himself. This seemingly trivial observation triggers an existential crisis as he realizes that everyone perceives him differently, creating countless versions of his identity. As he attempts to escape these conflicting images, he begins to question the nature of selfhood, reality, and social identity. Through absurdity and philosophical reflection, Pirandello explores the instability of personal identity and the impossibility of truly knowing oneself through the eyes of others.