When Erica arrives in Paris in the summer of 1978, she has no idea that a single encounter will change the course of her life. On the steps of Sacré-Cœur, she meets Laure, who is pursuing a PhD at the Sorbonne and living with an intensity that captivates Erica. Between conversations and the city’s nights, a closeness grows that takes her by surprise.
What begins as a summer romance leaves its mark. The two women drift apart, but the memory of their time together remains. Erica returns to England, gets married, becomes a mother, and tries to find her voice as a writer. She wrestles with a bout of writer’s block and with questions about the life she has chosen. Laure faces political upheavals and challenges that reshape her sense of freedom and belonging.
Reunion Across Four Decades
Over more than forty years, the paths of the two women cross again and again—for different reasons and at different stages of life. Each encounter pushes the past back into the present. What was left unspoken at the time grows heavier, and Erica and Laure must ask themselves whether they made the right choice—or whether another life might have been possible.
“Almost Life” is now available in German translation by Gabriele Werbeck and Andrea Stumpf from the Zurich publisher Kein & Aber Verlag as a 576-page hardcover priced at €25, and as an e-book for €18.99. A preview can be found on the publisher’s site.
Kiran Millwood Hargrave is a multiple-award-winning Sunday Times bestselling author of eleven books for children, teens, and adults. Her works have been translated into more than thirty languages, and theater and film adaptations are in the works. “Almost Life” is her first novel with Kein & Aber. The author lives with her family in Oxford. (dd/pm)
Kiran Millwood Hargrave: Almost Life. Original title: Almost Life. Novel. From American English by Gabriele Werbeck and Andrea Stumpf. 576 pages. Kein & Aber Verlag. Zürich 2026. Hardcover: $25 (ISBN 978-3-0369-5090-7). E-book: $18.99
