Nina Bußmann Reading in Sprachenatelier

“On a cloudless day in the Caribbean, a propeller plane suddenly disappears from radar with 32-year-old seismologist Nelly on board. After months of searching, debris is found in the forests of Nicaragua. But still no trace of Nelly. Back at home in Frankfurt, her friend can not get over her mysterious disappearance. She travels to Managua, stays in Nelly's old room, reads the records and diaries she left behind, and talks to anyone who ever dealt with her, driven by a strange obsession that seems to distract her from a secret within her own life. Her search for Nelly begins to seem more and more like an escape.”

"Der Mantel der Erde ist heiß und teilweise geschmolzen" is a novel about alienation and loneliness, about private and political threats, a novel about the desire to disappear, and the hope to be searched for and saved, at the very least in memory, in conversation. For disappearance can put an end to many things, but not to story-telling.

Critical reception

"The enormous drive that the novel... possesses, the mood of suspense and premonition that hang over the narrative is reminiscent of Michelangelo Antonioni’s films..." - Jan Wilm, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

"Amongst other things, the most impressive part of this masterful novel is how Nina Bussmann, through the missing woman and all around her, gradually creates a void that threatens to engulf everything and everyone." - Martin Zingg, Neue Zürcher Zeitung on Sunday

"Nina Bußmann's new book is no less masterful [than "Great Holiday", her first novel]. "Der Mantel der Erde ist heiß und teilweise geschmolzen" deals with the theme of disappearance with great presence..., as the novel turns it into the subject of its narrative. "- Paul Jandl, Neue Zürcher Zeitung

"... in fact, Nina Bußmann paints a graceful picture of scenic naturalism." - Hubert Winkels, DIE ZEIT

»... on the other hand, the language Nina Bußmann uses inspired me. It has its own particular poetry and uses linguistic images that I have never heard before.« - Anne Kohlik, Deutschlandfunk Kultur

"Bußmann designs a thoughtful, permeable network of discontinuities." - Judith von Sternburg, Frankfurter Rundschau

»An elaborate novel ... about the search for one’s traces and identity.« - HÖRZU Heft 22

"A text that revolves almost entirely around a void, a painful absence, especially when told from an unreliable perspective, is certainly an impressive feat. Bußmann is more than successful in this.« - Anja Kümmel, fixpoetry

"This novel is cleverly constructed, and each line reflects the author's mastery in the use of language." - Karin Janker, Süddeutsche Zeitung

Friday, 8.6.18 - 7 p.m. - Sprachenatelier Berlin - Frankfurter Allee 40, 10247 Berlin - free admission (registration until 1.6.18)