First published 2025
Anna and Tom have built what looks like the perfect life in their sun-drenched Neukölln apartment. They work as freelance graphic designers, post carefully curated photos on Instagram, and dive into Berlin's endless nightlife. Their days blend together in a haze of trendy restaurants, political conversations, and sexual adventures. But beneath the surface of their curated existence, something feels hollow. Their design work grows monotonous. Friends abandon the city for conventional lives back home. When they try to help refugees during the crisis, their efforts lead nowhere. The couple finds themselves prisoners of their own supposed freedom, desperately seeking something real in a world built on digital illusions. As their relationship strains under the weight of unspoken disappointments, Anna and Tom must confront the gap between the lives they perform online and the emptiness they feel inside.
Genres: romance, literary-fiction, contemporary, contemporary-romance
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, social-commentary
Setting: Berlin, Neukolln
Period: 21st-century
136 pages · Paperback · New York Review Books
Content warnings: depression, mental-illness