"Snowed Under" book launch by Antje Ravic Strubel December 16, 2007

"Snowed Under" book launch by Antje Ravic Strubel
Translated by Zaia Alexander
Published by Red Hen Press

Sunday, December 16, 2007, 4:00 p.m. at the Villa Aurora

Shuttle service begins at 3:30 p.m. at the corner of Los Liones and Sunset Blvd.

"Snowed Under" is an episodic novel composed of thirteen connected short stories. The action takes place in a small East European ski resort called Harrachov, during the chaotic period following the fall of the Wall. Though the rapid process of Westernization has already begun making inroads into the sleepy town, traces of the defunct socialist regime cannot be erased from its residents' memories or their way of doing things: The postmaster continues to "inspect" letters even if the old secret service has long since been deposed; the barkeeper blackmails a West German investor so he can finance a trip around the world; Adina, the last teen-ager in the town, searches for a new identity over the internet.

Through the alternating perspectives of the town residents, we learn about two Germans, Evy and Vera, who have come to the resort for a weeklong ski vacation. Their relationship, already on the brink of collapse, threatens to fall apart completely when they find themselves unable to leave the mountain village during a snow storm.

Antje Rávic Strubel

Born 1974 in Potsdam, Antje Rávic Strubel studied American and German literature and psychology at Potsdam University and New York University. An author and free-lance journalist in Berlin, her novels include: Kältere Schichten der Luft (S. Fischer, 2007); Vom Dorf: Abenteur Geschichten zu Weihnachten (DTV, 2007); Tupolew 134 (C.H. Beck, 2004), Fremd Gehen: Ein Nachtstück (DTV, 2002), Unter Schnee (DTV, 2001) and Offene Blende (DTV, 2001).

She is the German translator of Joan Didion's Year of Magical Thinking (Claasen, 2006). Her short stories have been anthologized widely. She has received numerous literary awards, including the Hermann Hesse Prize (2007) and was a finalist for the prestigious Leipzig Book Fair Award (2007). She was writer-in-residence at Villa Aurora in 2004.

The author will be signing books.

Please R.S.V.P. by December 11 (310) 573-3603

Official Website: http://villa-aurora.org