Reunion

A brilliant work of art that deserves a far wider readership – Ian McEwanI loved Reunion and found it very moving. It’s a rediscovered novella, only 80 pages long, a real gem about how friendship can be challenged by historical circumstance – John BoyneQuite simply, a perfect work of art. With the utmost delicacy and care, Uhlman distils all the rage and tragedy of the second world war into one brief childhood friendship, and the final line is the most shattering of any novel I know. It is one of those books that is an unfailing test of character: if you give it to someone, and they don’t like it, you should sever all ties, and possibly call the police – Sarah Perry * Guardian, Book of the Year *I read it in a gulp…very powerful – Deborah MoggachA perfect little gem of a story with a kick in the tail — and a resonance that rings louder than ever just when you think the story is over – Meg RosoffFinely concise, tender and most painful * Sunday Times *I think if I had to agitate for one under-mentioned title it would probably be Reunion… Maybe readers think they have read the story before. But I urge you to give it a try; it is short, and moving. I know that’s not the same as stumbling across it somewhere in the stacks…but perhaps it can qualify as a treasure all the same * Paris Review *From the first tingle-making line…I was mesmerised by Uhlman’s heart-breaking story * Daily Mail *An exquisite novella such as Fred Uhlman’s Reunion…is clearly worth much more than its weight or cover price and certainly more than the latest prize-winning bit of puff * Guardian *Melancholy and elegiac with a very effective final twist of the plot * The Times *

Fred Uhlman, born in Stuttgart in 1901, claimed that his South-West German homeland of W rttemberg, made him a “romantic” for life and formed the essence of his sensibilities as a poet. Understandable since it was also the home of Schiller, H lderlin, M rike, Weiland, Uhland, Schlegel, Hegel, Schelling and Herman Hesse. Uhlman’s name is not out of place among these, and the beauty of that birthplace illuminates every line of his stunning fictional memoir Reunion. He died in 1985.