Sanditz

Reading and discussion with Lukas Rietzschel, moderated by Andreas Platthaus
“Sanditz,” the title of Lukas Rietzschel’s new novel, is a small town on the outskirts of the country. There, the author weaves the story of the Wenzel family together with that of Sanditz’s residents into a sweeping panorama of German histories—from the end of the GDR to the present day, from the occupation of the local Stasi headquarters to a volunteer’s struggle in Ukraine, from the O zier to the civil rights activist, from the local journalist, the early retiree, the dreamer to the archivist. A novel about new beginnings and decline, friendship and family, about the desire to belong and the longing for freedom. Lukas Rietzschel was born in 1994 in Räckelwitz, East Saxony. His debut novel, *Mit der Faust in die Welt schlagen* (2018), was a huge success and has been adapted for the big screen.