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Tschechien erlesen: Jakub Stanjura "Da war doch nichts"
Czech Republic exquisite: Jakub Stanjura “There was nothing there”
Event by: Stadtbibliothek Berlin-Mitte, Tschechisches Zentrum Berlin
Location: Philipp-Schaeffer-Bibliothek, Brunnenstraße 181, Berlin - Mitte
Tickets: Get tickets
About event
The successful Czech author Jakub Stanjura presents his novel about psychological manipulation and gaslighting in Berlin. Admission is free, registration is requested.
Daniela's life seems organized: studies, relationships, routine. But every August something dark comes back - memories that she has long suppressed and that now threaten to throw her entire life into disarray. An oppressively topical novel about truth, power and the difficulty of finding yourself again. Jakub Stanjura (*1993) presents his debut novel in a reading and conversation with Christina Frankenberg (Czech Center Berlin) and his German publisher Ruben Höppner. The German translation by Mirko Kraetsch was published by Anthea Verlag in spring 2025.
There was nothing there. Daniela has heard this sentence since she was a child. When the newly bought clothes quickly become too tight for her and her mother warns her to hold back when eating. Or when she wants to find out where the bruises on her little sister's upper arm came from. She suspects her mother of washing her clothes with too much heat and maliciously pinching her sister, but the other family members regularly cast doubt on her observations. When Daniela starts studying, she is happy to escape her parents' home. At Prague University she meets Štěpán, he is smart, well-read and always very concerned about her. But is his interest genuine? Or does he want to control her? Daniela soon feels overwhelmed in this relationship, she is insecure and is in danger of losing her footing.
Jakub Stanjura's novel, told with cool intensity, reveals the mechanisms of gaslighting, a form of psychological violence in which one person uses lies and manipulation to persuade another to no longer trust their own perception. The author studied English and bohemian. There was nothing was published under the original title Srpny by the Brno publishing house Host and was adapted for the theater by Divadlo Feste.
05. December 2025 // 8 p.m.
- Philipp Schaeffer Library
- Free entry
- Register at this link: https://pretix.eu/Philipp-Schaeffer-bibliothek/stanjura/
A joint event by the Philipp Schaeffer Library, the Czech Center Berlin and Anthea Verlag, with the kind support of the Czechia 2026 project as part of the Year of Czech Culture. The book table is designed by Bücher on Nonnendamm.
Daniela's life seems organized: studies, relationships, routine. But every August something dark comes back - memories that she has long suppressed and that now threaten to throw her entire life into disarray. An oppressively topical novel about truth, power and the difficulty of finding yourself again. Jakub Stanjura (*1993) presents his debut novel in a reading and conversation with Christina Frankenberg (Czech Center Berlin) and his German publisher Ruben Höppner. The German translation by Mirko Kraetsch was published by Anthea Verlag in spring 2025.
There was nothing there. Daniela has heard this sentence since she was a child. When the newly bought clothes quickly become too tight for her and her mother warns her to hold back when eating. Or when she wants to find out where the bruises on her little sister's upper arm came from. She suspects her mother of washing her clothes with too much heat and maliciously pinching her sister, but the other family members regularly cast doubt on her observations. When Daniela starts studying, she is happy to escape her parents' home. At Prague University she meets Štěpán, he is smart, well-read and always very concerned about her. But is his interest genuine? Or does he want to control her? Daniela soon feels overwhelmed in this relationship, she is insecure and is in danger of losing her footing.
Jakub Stanjura's novel, told with cool intensity, reveals the mechanisms of gaslighting, a form of psychological violence in which one person uses lies and manipulation to persuade another to no longer trust their own perception. The author studied English and bohemian. There was nothing was published under the original title Srpny by the Brno publishing house Host and was adapted for the theater by Divadlo Feste.
05. December 2025 // 8 p.m.
- Philipp Schaeffer Library
- Free entry
- Register at this link: https://pretix.eu/Philipp-Schaeffer-bibliothek/stanjura/
A joint event by the Philipp Schaeffer Library, the Czech Center Berlin and Anthea Verlag, with the kind support of the Czechia 2026 project as part of the Year of Czech Culture. The book table is designed by Bücher on Nonnendamm.