A previously-untranslated classic of the queer canon, SMALLTOWNNOVELLA follows b, a teenaged, working-class communist who falls in love with leif, a popular jock. When leif becomes fearful of the consequences of their affair, he instigates a community-wide assault. Written in a brilliant, all-lowercase, stream-of-consciousness, Schernikau’s novella is a radical reimagining of the German Bildungsroman.
Originally published in West Germany in 1980, Lucy Jones’ clear-sighted translation brings SMALLTOWNNOVELLA to English readers for the first time.