Juli Zeh’s Unterleuten, which is currently #2 on the Der Spiegel bestseller list, explores what happens in a small village outside of Berlin when an energy company arrives in town with plans to develop a wind farm. The novel, Zeh's fifth, has been burning up the charts in Germany for over 15 weeks now.
Book title: Unterleuten
Published by: Luchterhand, on March 1
Format: Hardcover
Author: Zeh’s debut novel, 2001's Eagles and Angels, became an international bestseller. Since then, she has remained a commanding presence on Germany bestseller lists. Her books have been translated into 35 languages and she has won several literary prizes, including the Carl Amery Literature Prize and the Thomas Mann Prize. Her novels often explore the dynamics between individuals and society.
Acquiring Editor: Georg Reuchlein, publisher of Luchterhand
How It’s Done: Unterleuten has been among the top five titles on the Der Spiegel bestseller list for 16 weeks. Over 110,000 copies have sold.
Why They Think It’s Working: Reuchlein, who believes Zeh is "one of the most important authors of her generation," said the author's been building her readership book by book. After the success of Eagles and Angels (which was published by Granta in the U.S.), her subsequent novels have become popular among consumers, as well as in the classroom. Reuchlein noted that a number of Zeh's books have become school reading assignments; others have been and adapted into films. Unterleuten marks Zeh's first novel with Luchterhand and it was also helped along by the fact that it drew strong praise from booksellers and critics when it was released as an ARC.
