Shida Bazyar in Braunschweig: Reading from The Gaps
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Shida Bazyar reads from the award-winning novel The Gaps
On November 7, 2026, the Small House of the State Theatre Braunschweig will become the venue for a special author encounter: Shida Bazyar presents her novel The Gaps as part of the Braunschweig Literature Time. The reading begins at 8:30 PM and combines literary language art with a focused look at German history, memory, and the question of belonging.
A literary panorama of ninety years of German history
At the center of The Gaps is Heimesbach, a fictional place in the Hunsrück, in whose walls ninety years of German history are inscribed. Bazyar tells of Jewish families, NS beneficiaries, and people who conceal or retell their past. Decades later, families fleeing from Iran to Germany arrive, searching for their place in the supposed homeland between protection, foreignness, and memory.
Between family history, culture of remembrance, and the present
The narrative structure of the novel traverses different times and perspectives. What is missing in official chronicles gains a literary voice: repressed experiences, female perspectives, and the fractures that run through private biographies. Thus, a polyphonic narrative mosaic emerges about change and continuity, about the lie of new beginnings and the desire to finally find a home.
Shida Bazyar: committed contemporary literature
Shida Bazyar, born in 1988 in Hermeskeil, studied Literary Writing in Hildesheim and worked for several years in youth education. Her debut At Night It Is Quiet in Tehran was widely awarded and translated. With Three Comrades, she was on the longlist for the German Book Prize. In 2023, she received the Ernst Toller Prize.
For The Gaps, Bazyar was awarded the German Book Prize and the Wilhelm Raabe Literature Prize in 2026. The reading in Braunschweig thus gains a special cultural-political and literary significance: it directly connects to a novel that does not treat historical responsibility abstractly but makes it palpable in voices, life stories, and gaps.
Reading atmosphere in the Small House
The Small House of the State Theatre provides the appropriate setting for this literary experience. The focus is on the author's voice, the precise rhythm of her prose, and the quiet intensity of a reading that transforms historical experience into contemporary language. The event will be moderated by Wiebke Porombka.
Conclusion: Experience contemporary literature live
Visitors can expect an immersive author encounter with one of the prominent voices of contemporary German-language literature. The reading from The Gaps opens access to a novel about memory, migration, family history, and the blind spots of societal narratives. Those seeking literary quality, cultural discourse, and a concentrated reading atmosphere will experience literature with lasting resonance on this evening.
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- Publisher: https://www.kiwi-verlag.de/autor/shida-bazyar-4001127
