Published on November 2, 2026, Annette Mingels’ new novel Evas Tochter
follows a young woman named Sophie who places a spherical one-man tent directly on the pavement outside her parents’ house in an upscale residential neighborhood. Penguin Verlag published the 240-page book for 25.95 Euros.
One summer Monday morning, Sophie von Clüver sets up her spherical tent on the sidewalk right in front of her family home. According to Die Presse
, the demonstration takes place in a posh residential area rather than in a garden or on a meadow. While the stunt strikes a neighbor as an intervention, ein Anschlag
, and ein Vorwurf
, the situation is simply something that happened to the young woman.
Perspectives Across the Neighborhood
Daily life brings Greta, Wanda, Hjördis, and other neighborhood women into contact with the tent. Work, neighborhood ties, and sometimes faded friendships connect these individuals into a loose collective. Writing chapter by chapter, author Annette Mingels gives readers a look into their diverse viewpoints.
Cornelia Grobner wrote in Die Presse
that “Hanne stood there looking strangely lost in her beige clothes, as unadorned and boring as her whole life.”
Personal struggles weigh heavily on each woman. Finances, dating in older age, childcare, self-fulfillment, mental burdens, and loneliness occupy their thoughts. Though Sophie and her troubled dynamic with her mother rarely take center stage for most of them, their minds inevitably circle back to her.
Individual Suffering and Personal Insight
Through carefully crafted characters, Mingels explores the bitter reality that one person’s private pain often registers merely as a footnote or a curiosity in the lives of those around them. Near the end of the narrative, Sophie reflects on human nature, wondering War es nicht das, was Menschen interessant machte?
