Chronicling the journey of a German Old Lutheran community starting from 1836, to a new community, free of oppression from the Prussian state. Told through 14 year old Hanne, who has something different about her. Never fitting in with the other girls, always drawn to the sounds of the world she can hear, others cannot, and so think her odd and stuck in imaginings.

This is a really quiet book, mostly propelled on the excellent prose work, creating a very immersive and rich text. Hanne can, and does, necessarily carry the book. The community was interesting to me and there is just the right amount of detail about it and Hanne’s home life before transitioning to the next plot beat. It has a knack for this. Never dwelling too long but making each section feel dwelled in the right amount. There is no sensationalized drama but there are organic and meaningful stakes. Sometimes to a surprising degree.

Great soft worldbuilding allow for the the components of the story that readers probably aren’t familiar with to be dropped and reiterated at the right times; great information design. I continually found myself tense because I wasn’t sure where the story was going to, and each obstacle, especially later, doesn’t feel tropey in the least, which made it compelling because I wasn’t sure how something would be resolved—or perceive what the next obstacle will even be. But it’s also the kind of story rooted in myth and generation, so there is enough concrete details to keep the reader moored as well. It’s an interesting liminal space that’s created.

There is some doubt seeded in each section as well because the narration comes from Hanne at a future date. So you believe certain things to be true of the narrative that may not be, which is a very fun device when encountered. Also, there is a mystery implanted from the onset with the title of certain sections. Together, they make a propulsive experience. The strength of the prose work can’t be understated too. It’s gorgeous, fitting Hanne’s voice, her beliefs, and her mannerisms, but not mired by her young age and is packed with sensory details that make the fiction pop out of the page.

Because it is also not concerned with expectations it will probably annoy some people. I prefer it because of it. It’s a bit off, for good reason. Sentimental as it should be, because it’s also a romance, as much as it is a bit of other things too, like coming-of-age, colonization, and dogmatic views, especially considering religion. It subverts all of those expectations throughout. Then, it also provides and withholds catharsis. In a particular character, kind of antagonist never gets their just desserts but a resolution comes about nonetheless; again, making sense for the perspective of the character.

Really great stuff. A book I’ll pick up again in the future just to be with that voice again.