The Fire

In her perceptive and affecting new novel, Daniela Krien explores a marriage where everything hangs in the balance.

How can two lovers find a way back to each other, when the pain of the past stands between them?

With plans adrift after a fire burns down their rented holiday cabin, Rahel and Peter find themselves unexpectedly on an isolated farm where Rahel spent many a happy childhood summer. Suddenly, after years of navigating careers, demanding children and the monotony of the daily routine, they find themselves unable to escape each other’s company. With three weeks stretching ahead, they must come to an understanding on whether they have a future together.

What happens when love grows older and passion has faded? When what divides us is greater than what brought us together? And how easy is it to ask the fundamental questions about our relationships?

"Quietly devastating" HANNAH BECKERMANN, Observer

"A stylish, subtle read" Woman & Home BOOK OF THE MONTH

"Perfectly paced, nuanced" Saga Magazine PICK OF THE MONTH

"Powerful . . . subtle and psychologically astute" Times Literary Supplement

"Beautifully written" Independent

Spiegel

The plot develops with summery lightness, and the intellectual depth of this book is gradually revealed. Rainer Moritz, Neue Zuercher Zeitung

Daniela Krien's The Fire achieves the masterstroke of touching upon the existential without flaunting it. Anke Jahns, NDR Kultur

She writes clearly and without frills. Her language is never banal, but always artfully literary. Hannah Beckerman, Observer

A quietly devastating portrayal of a marriage . . . Krien beautifully conveys Rahel's sense of impotent frustration, familial tensions and the thwarted desires of middle age Zoe West, Woman & Home "Book of the Month"

With her trademark hypnotic prose, Krien looks at the nuances of a relationship with honesty and clarity. A stylish, subtle read that digs deeps into the human psyche. Irish Times (Gloss Magazine)

Impactful P.D. Smith, Times Literary Supplement

"Beautifully written" Independent