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This is the second book in a row I’ve read from a controversial Nobel prize winner (The previous one being Hunger by Knut Hamsun). But this was purely coincidental. The author, Peter Handke, also adopted it into a screenplay, which he directed into a film with an eponymous title, in 1977. The book is essentially about Marianne (a.k.a the woman), a thirty year old housewife, resolved on finding a new meaning to her life other than the one her husband and her marriage has provided for her. Living in an unnamed big industrial city in West Germany, she parts ways with her husband, Bruno, and starts a new life with a promise of independence. What follows is her journey through raising their only child while going back to her old job as a translator. The French book she is translating gives us little glimpses into what she’s going through. The constant noises that surround her are always cautioning her of the perils of loneliness (yes, I am looking at you Franziska). She deals with her new life gracefully despite not being confident of the whole ‘’project’�. It is a testament to Peter Handke’s talent as a writer that he accomplishes so much with just few words. He’s a supreme minimalist, if you will. A wonderful little book.