David Vajda Presents Debut Novel Reading in Berlin's Hansa Quarter

In late winter 2026, author David Vajda conducted a preliminary audio test for his first public reading from his debut novel at the Hansa Library in Berlin's Hansa Quarter. The event took place in a compact lecture hall within the library building, which faces the plain St. Ansgar Church. The Hansa Quarter itself was constructed rapidly during post-war reconstruction, featuring austere buildings by architects like Alvar Aalto and Walter Gropius that were intended as a humane architectural response to earlier authoritarian styles. Vajda's novel, titled 'Diamanten,' chronicles the complex trajectory of a Yugoslav-German artistic family, focusing on a central male character who closely resembles the author's father, Marijan Vajda. Marijan, a filmmaker and friend of the narrator from their time together in Munich, was remembered as warm, intelligent, and ambitious, though his career largely involved working on modest German television productions. The reading marked the initial presentation of this literary work exploring familial and artistic identity.