Jan Weiler "Das Vogelhaus" x Harbour Front Literaturfestival Hamburg

A book about coming home—and about the places that know more about us than we do ourselves.

Whenever Leonard Beck checks his mail, he always fears the worst. And sure enough, it’s an unassuming letter from his mother that calls him back to the Lower Rhine after all these years: a house is for sale. Although this house doesn’t bring back fond memories, he feels drawn to it.

He travels back to his hometown—and thus into his past. He reunites with people who were once important to him. And time and again, he finds himself standing in front of that unassuming house, whose secret he was unable to uncover back then. Now he wants to get to the bottom of it, finally facing his fears—and his great love.

Jan Weiler, born in Düsseldorf in 1967, is a journalist and writer. For many years, he served as editor-in-chief of SZ-Magazin. His debut novel, *Maria, ihm schmeckt’s nicht!*, became one of the most successful books of the past decades. This was followed by, among others, *Das Pubertier*, the novels featuring Inspector Martin Kühn, *Der Markisenmann*, and *Munk*. In addition to his novels, Weiler writes columns, screenplays, radio plays, and audiobooks, which he also narrates himself. He lives in Munich and Umbria.