Elise Schmit's Story Collection Named Book of the Week

Elise Schmit's new story collection 'Allgemeine Zweifel am weiteren Verlauf' (General Doubts About the Further Course) has been named book of the week by Kulturnews. The 300-page volume contains eight stories that create entire universes without superfluous words. Schmit focuses on small moments of change rather than epic destinies, featuring characters such as a lonely old fisherman, two friends connected by tragedy, a single mother with a dating app profile, and a schoolboy obsessed with space. Her protagonists share loneliness and a longing for community, but the author resists being reduced to a diagnostician of alienated contemporary times. The standout story 'Der Löwe des heiligen Hieronymus' (The Lion of Saint Jerome) was inspired by a 16th-century Dutch painting. Born in 1982 in Luxembourg, Schmit has won multiple awards at the Concours littéraire national. Her previous story collection 'Stürze aus unterschiedlichen Fallhöhen' (Falls from Different Heights) received the Prix Servais in 2019, Luxembourg's most important literary prize, and became a bestseller in the country. She lives in Luxembourg City. 'Allgemeine Zweifel am weiteren Verlauf' made the list of best books for June 2026.