Literary highlights in March

“With Miranda July, even the menopause becomes an adventure,” ran the headline in the *Neue Zürcher Zeitung* when the novel *On All Fours* was published – and it turned out to be spot on. On her 45th birthday, an artist, trapped in her routines as a wife and mother, sets off to find herself. By car, from Los Angeles to New York. But after just 20 minutes’ drive, she finds herself stranded in a suburb, where she checks into a motel and begins a humorous yet serious exploration of shame and shamelessness.

To mark International Women’s Day, Zeynep Bozbay and Rahel Hubacher read from the acclaimed work by the American author and artist.

The book, with which the educational publisher is celebrating its 175th anniversary, contains a minor sensation: almost a hundred years after it was written, Max Frisch’s school-leaving essay has resurfaced. The topic: ‘The light and dark sides of modern technology’. Furthermore, musicians, writers and artists share their personal memories of educational materials in the volume; for instance, Charles Lewinsky, Knackeboul and I have all taken a trip back to the days of ‘Bonne Chance’ and delved into speech impediments. At the launch, editor Dirk Vaihinger and Thomas Strässle will be in conversation.

Dana Grigorcea achieves something that is becoming increasingly rare these days: in her novels, she approaches the world with a touch that is both light-hearted and profound. In her new work, *Dancing Woman, Blue Rooster*, we accompany Camil and Roxana through a summer in the village of Busteni in the Romanian mountains. Together, they observe the couples in the village and ponder when love is truly love. And so it stands to reason that their own story could also become such a love story. This evening, the author will be talking to presenter Roman Bucheli about longings that are unexpectedly fulfilled and opportunities that slip by unnoticed.

“I want to become a ghost,” the writer Paul Auster told his wife Siri Hustvedt shortly before his death. And that is exactly what he has become for her. Since Auster succumbed to cancer around a year ago, Hustvedt continues to feel his presence – painful and comforting at the same time. In her new book, the great American writer comes to terms with the loss of her husband and dares to do the impossible: to bring him back to life.

With GHOST STORIES, Hustvedt returns to the Schauspielhaus after 10 years for a reading at the Literaturhaus Zürich. Ensemble member Karin Pfammatter will read from this exceptional work. Hosted by Elisabeth Bronfen, discussion in English.