TEHRAN – The major Iranian publisher Qoqnus has recently published “This House Is Mine”, German writer Dörte Hansen’s debut novel, in Persian.

Fatemeh Atraki is the translator of the book originally published in 2015.

All her life Vera has felt like a stranger in the old and drafty half-timbered farmhouse she arrived at as a five-year-old refugee from East Prussia in 1945, and yet she can’t seem to let it go. 

Sixty years later, her niece Anne suddenly shows up at her door with her small son. Anne has fled the trendy Hamburg, Germany neighborhood she never fit into after her relationship imploded. 

Vera and Anne are strangers to each other but have much more in common than they think. As the two strong-willed and very different women share the great old house, they find what they have never thought to search for a family.

Told in skillfully crafted alternating points of view and a nonlinear storyline, Hansen’s internationally bestselling debut novel “This House Is Mine” showcases her impressive talent for characterization and dialogue in an exceptional book that combines emotional depth and humor. 

The author’s sparse language and sometimes oblique references make for a deeply immersive reading experience, and the characters will resonate long after the last page has been turned.

Photo: A combination photo shows Dörte Hansen and the front cover of the Persian edition of her novel “This House Is Mine”.

MMS/YAW