High Water Mark: Anja Kampmann's Deep Water's Rising

It's been said that poets write the best novels. Anja Kampmann, who studied at the German Institute for Literature in Leipzig and still lives in Leipzig, received numerous awards before publishing her highly regarded debut collection of poetry in 2016. So it’s not surprising that one of the most prominent blurbs for her novel comes from a fellow poet turned novelist, Lutz Seiler. He won Germany’s biggest prize in 2014 with Kruso, which was published last year in a lucid translation by Tess Lewis. Seiler says: “Kampmann dares to travel to the roots of our present times – atmospheric, intense and sensual.”

The novel starts with the story of a rig hand Wenzel Grozak who has lost his only friend in an accident on an oil platform. Wenzel initially travels to Hungary to bring the family his friend’s last possessions, but then is spurred on to retrace his flight from humble beginnings, his childhood in a mining town, and a girl he left behind long ago. Ridding himself of his work clothes on the West African coast, Wenzel makes it to Italy and heads north, crossing the Alps in a pickup truck that’s seen better days. But even as he gets closer and closer to Milena and his ostensible home, it becomes uncertain he will ever reach his destination. What distinguishes this debut is the densely woven language that fleshes out the characters and connects the narrative arc that stretches across Europe and far beyond.

But because the awards ceremony is already on Thursday, I’m going to go out on a limb and predict the likelihood of Kampmann’s Deep Waters Rising will win. Although it is a very strong novel, the Leipzig Book Fair Prize has never been given to a debut. The closest thing was Clemens Meyer’s win in 2008 with his second book, a collection of short stories, All the Lights. Odds: 5-1.