Description

Sifting through memories, simple scenes nestled into one another like her own beloved wooden doll, the Matryoshka, Maja struggles to unearth her identity. She is marked by a lingering absence – of homeland, mother tongue, mother, warmth. Raised in an unfamiliar country by her taciturn aunt, Maja has brief moments of connection with her fading past such as through her childhood friendship with Marek, a Polish refugee with his own stories of love and loss in the face of war and displacement. An adult Maja finds herself again and again on the outside of her relationships with others, and with herself. This poetic, yet unadorned, account invites an open-ended exploration of the relationship between language and identity.

Publisher Review

‘Maja decides to run away but she is imprisoned by a chain she cannot break: the nostalgia for her birth tongue and the desire for her stories. A subtle book, to be savoured.’ Le Monde, France ‘A mesmerising book from a masterful writer, translated with all the quiet power of the original.’ Jen Calleja ‘Dreamy, lyrical and richly evocative, Without Waking Up is a Matryoshka doll of a novel, revealing itself slowly but powerfully. I hope to read more of Schutti’s work in English.’ Jan Carson ‘A profound novel of postwar Europe. Schutti’s prose rings with a stonecutter’s precision in this story of wartime displacement and its long aftermath. Her characters are deeply engraved by languages and cultures from which they have been estranged and which renders them strangers in their country of refuge. With authenticity and great insight, Schutti captures the bewilderment of lives dismembered by war and the longing for rememberment.’ Alice Lyons ‘An achingly beautiful book. Tender and disquieting. A delicate weave of hope and loss that lingers long after reading.’ Danielle McLaughlin ‘Schutti is a storyteller of exceptional talent. Without Waking Up will continue to flower in your imagination long after you’ve finished the last page.’ Annemarie Ni Churreain ‘This book … is a marvel.’ Eoghan Smith ‘Schutti writes in a mesmerising, poetic way.’ Ksenia Samotiy, Irish Independent