Let’s Talk About Feelings

Leif Randt has written an optimistic novel about melancholy farewells. Let’s Talk About Feelings is a celebration of fashion, desire, and the passage into middle age

In his West Berlin boutique, Kenting Beach Store, 41-year-old Marian Flanders sells what might be the most beautiful clothes in the world – though the shop rarely turns a profit. When his mother Carolina – once an iconic model – dies after a long illness, Marian plans an unconventional funeral for a select group of guests. Aboard his father’s former party boat, he delivers a disarming speech, co-written with his best friend, and scatters his mother’s ashes on the Wannsee. For Marian, this moment signals the start of life’s less joyful half. Yet what follows is a year of transformation. The chill of grief gives way to warm-hearted defiance, and deep disappointment blossoms into euphoric affection.