The smell of soot and roses

The heroine of Julya Rabinowich’s books is called Madina and has fled from the war – where from and where to is left open. The war is now over and Madina dares to travel to her old homeland to finally get an answer to the agonizing question of her father’s whereabouts. And to say goodbye to the life she had to leave behind so hastily. The wounds of war are still fresh, Madina encounters great suffering and mistrust. And she realizes that not every search ends as she had hoped. The search for her father ultimately leads Madina to herself: She realizes that it is time to relinquish responsibility for her family and follow her own dreams. This is a story about the abyss into which war plunges so many families, and the story of a strong young woman who grows beyond herself and finds herself – profound and powerful.

Julya Rabinowich, born in St. Petersburg in 1970, has lived in Vienna since 1977, where she also studied. She is a writer and columnist and worked as an interpreter for many years. She has received numerous awards, including the Friedrich Gerstäcker Prize, the Austrian Children’s and Youth Book Prize and the Lynx (Die Zeit & Radio Bremen). The idea for The Smell of Soot and Roses (2023) was born from the countless conversations the author has had with war survivors and their relatives.

Age recommendation: from 14 years
Language: German

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