An enjoyable and entertaining German novel about a young single mother, Annabel Hansen, who relocates to the coast to start a new life after her divorce and buys a boat. As you do. This unexpected and unlikely purchase brings to light a number of hidden personal histories and meetings with a whole bunch of characters who were all in some way deeply affected by the division of Germany after the war and the creation of the Stasi. That includes Annabel herself. As the novel progresses the backstories are revealed and it’s an unusual storyline which I found quite compelling. Stylistically the novel has its faults. There are too many coincidences and too much reliance on lengthy first-person accounts, which feel unnatural, and the characterisation is rather wooden, but the historical background in itself kept me engaged and eager to see how it all turns out.

I'm a sucker for a cafe story, and I'm a sucker for anything involving ship-y, tar-y things, so when you put them together, it's pretty much my favorite thing ever.

In any case, Storm Rose ticked all my boxes: great concept, vivid characters, descriptions of place and time that felt accurate. I liked the writer's voice a lot.