Bernhard Schlink & Manfred Osten

Manfred Osten and Bernhard Schlink in conversation about his latest novel Das späte Leben (2023).

Martin, 76, is shocked by a medical diagnosis: He only has a few months left. His life and his love belong to his young wife and his six-year-old son. What else can he do for them? What can he give them, what can he leave them? Martin wants to do everything right. But late life is also full of surprises and challenges that he has to face.

Author and professor emeritus of law Bernhard Schlink was born in 1944, grew up in Heidelberg and lives in Berlin and New York. His novel The Reader (1995) has been translated into over 50 languages and has won national and international awards.