Part coming-of-age tale part family saga an extraordinary debut novel set between Berlin
Chicago and Jerusalem "about being Jewish and German and all the awkwardness that entails" (
The Guardian ). It's the hottest of summers in Chicago and fifteen-year-old Margarita is
spending her vacation as usual under the not-so-watchful eyes of her aging maternal
grandparents. The tempestuous yet vulnerable teen would much rather be at home in Germany
exploring texciting Berlin with her best friend Anna or with Avi her doting Israeli father a
cantor at their local synagogue with whom she has shared a special bond ever since her mother
Marsha abandoned the family. Instead she's stuck halfway around the world in a cavernous
house homesick and tortured by the awful sound of her grandparents' chewing. Yet young
Margarita is blindsided whenthe announcement is made that arrangements have been made behind
her back for her to meet Marsha in Israel before returning to Germany. Margarita wants no part
of the ill-conceived plan but finds herself traveling to her father's birthplace to spend two
weeks with a mother she hardly knows in an attempt at overdue reconciliation. When her mother
fails to show up however it's clear that things are about to go awry. Meanwhile in Germany
Avi tries to fill the hole left by Margarita's absence with a trip of his own embarking on a
personal journey both hope-inducing and despairing. Expertly straddling the two narratives of
daughter and father Dana Vowinkel's debut is a graceful exploration of imperfect family
relationships and larger cultural displacement. Centered around a neurotic but loveable cast of
characters Misophonia is a heartfelt and tender story that explores modern Jewish identity and
the diaspora -- an illuminating portrait of Jewish life in contemporary Germany. Translated
from the German by Adrian Nathan West
