They might be in a city in the American Deep South, in a rural backwater somewhere in western Germany, in the sprawling creative melting pot also known as Berlin or a provincial university town; wherever they happen to be, Susanne Schedel’s characters often seem to be at a personal crossroads. An old way of living seems to be losing relevance, and the new one is taking frustratingly long to materialize. They react with either good humour or barbed, satirical wit at the frantically high-speed of 21st century life. Or they run off, fleeing for the refuge of a far-away place, which could mean a remote cloister, or it could mean Amsterdam. It’s the latter which is the destination of a young fashion student seeking solace from her materialistic entrepreneurial family. Alma, who is left cold by the hollow promises of modern life, finds sanctuary in a casino. As long as the roulette ball is spinning, the preciously short time she has left to find happiness stretches into an eternity.
Her stories also trace her characters’ transitions and metamorphoses, which, although unnoticed by the characters themselves, have the power to radically transform their lives. And bring funny, tragic and empowering changes...
