FOREIGN HANSER RIGHTS - Hanser Literaturverlage

FOREIGN
HANSER
RIGHTS
Janne Teller
Komm
Come
Novel. 160 pages. Hardcover
Translated from Danish by Peter Urban-Halle
Publication date: February 2012
F I CTI O N
Janne Teller, who gained international fame with her controversial books for
young readers, has now written a philosophical nocturne for adults that examines
some central existential issues. Can art make the world a better place? How do we
define responsibility? How do we want to live in the future?
It is winter. It is night-time. It is snowing. The publisher is still sitting at his desk. He has just
entrusted a promising new manuscript from his bestselling author to the printers. Suddenly,
an acquaintance, Petra Vinter, turns up in his office, claiming his author has stolen her story.
It recollects a highly personal experience with far-reaching political repercussions during her
time as a UN delegate in Africa. The story was never intended for publication. The publisher
is torn. He hopes the lecture on literature and morality he is currently composing will help
clear his mind. As he writes, he sees his life roll by before him: his marriage to his boss’s
daughter, an influential politician; their mutual infidelities; his temptation to leave it all
behind and go off with his mistress; his decision to hang onto his failed marriage. It’s up to
you, Petra Vintner seems to be saying, as she calls, »Come, follow me. You have to change
your life.«
Janne Teller
born in 1964 in Copenhagen, worked as an economic and political consultant for the European
Union and today divides her time between Copenhagen, New York and Paris. She has
been a fulltime author since 1995. Her first book for young readers, Nichts – Was im Leben
wichtig ist, was published by Hanser in 2010. It won the prestigious Prix Libbylit in 2008 and
the Printz Honor award for young adult literature in 2011.