The book was first published in german on august 1, 1998, through arche verlag and follows a romance between a nameless older man and agnes, a young woman that is almost half his age. Write a story about me, agnes said to her lover, so i know what you think of me. The narrator and agnes are an unlikely couple in their age disparityshe is 25 and he is old enough to be her fatherand unlikely too due to his being a visitor, from switzerland. Peter stamm grew up in weinfelden in the canton of thurgau the son of an accountant. Agnes is the debut novel by the bestselling author peter stamm. Peter stamms agnes is not, in fact, no good, but it doesnt match up to the high standards expected when michael hofmanns name is attached as translator. Though the novel is narrated in the first person by the writer, the reader isnt quite sure what he thinks of agnes, and neither is he.
It was by searching for hofmann translations that i found stamm. He enjoys the anonymity of being a stranger in a big foreign city, avoiding making contact with people before meeting agnes. Bevor meine figuren namen haben, bezeichne ich sie in meinen notizen oft mit. Peter stamm agnes, fischer taschenbuch verlag, frankfurt am main, 2010, s. The book has first been printed in 1998, but this reprint is the first english translated version. After completing primary and secondary school he spent three years as an apprentice accountant and then 5 as an accountant. His prizewinning books have been translated into more than thirty languages. Er wurde im jahre 1963 in schierlingen, kanton thurgau, geboren. The book was first published in german, on august 1, 1998, through arche verlag and follows a romance between a nameless older man and agnes, a young woman that is almost half his age. Agnes, peter stamm agnes is a 1998 german novel, by peter stamm, and was considered to be his literary debut. The results may well surprise all, particularly as he moves from writing what has happened between the two of themand discovering.