The Aargau author Christine Rinderknecht reads from her latest novel entitled ‘Schwarzes’. Moderated by Ursula Meier, art historian

Early 1980s in Zurich. A kitchen table in a condemned house. The friendship between Donna and Leta begins at this table. One comes from the mountains, the other from the Mittelland. Both are in search of a life that suits them. The screaming of Meredith Monk and metallic noises from the yard, where a wrecked bus is being hammered back into shape over a period of months, accompany their everyday lives. An amour fou draws Donna to Paris. Donna becomes the mother of ten children, two of whom she bore herself. When Leta learns of Donna’s cancer diagnosis, she offers to help her. In Paris, she immerses herself in Donna’s world and tries to be there for her friend for a few days between mountains of encrusted pans and an answering machine that is set far too loud. Leta remembers, tells stories in fragments, listens to sound recordings from 2002 and weaves a tapestry of stories.

‘Schwarzes”: this is a coffee from Donna’s mountainous region, the primordial ground from which the stories emerge. ‘Black opens the heart, the brain, black connects, black heals the homesick and the longing.’