The Discovery of Slowness

Nadolny’s masterpiece, a huge commercial and critical success in Germany and across Europe, recounts the life of one of the most interesting explorers of the nineteenth century – Sir John Franklin who, amongst other achievements, paved the way for the discovery of the NorthWest Passage. By means of Nadolny’s acute reading of history and his storytelling prowess, the reader follows this misfit’s development from awkward schoolboy to expedition leader, Governor of Tasmania, icon of adventure. Not only a riveting account of a remarkable life, “The Discovery of Slowness” is also a profound and thought-provoking meditation on time. The result is an extraordinary reading experience that justifies the novel’s reputation as one of the classics of contemporary German literature.

Reviews of The Discovery of Slowness

* This is both a wonderful historical novel and a spell-binding individual portrait … This is a marvellous translation of a masterly work. The Observer * Time, action and vision – a magical hat-trick and one that this translation pays faithful tribute to, capturing grand adventures like a detailed painting. The Scotsman * Nadolny brilliantly sets the narrative pace to the rhythms of the frozen landscape, and to the 'slowness which is bred by hunger. — Robert MacFarlane * Sten Nadolny shipped us into beautiful, fatal Arctic wastes with his spellbinding novels. Boyd Tonkin * Slow movements of emotion and plot pull the reader expertly in, and the book with its self-consciously ponderous charm, offers all the pleasures of the best historical fiction. Daily Telegraph