A book that practically vibrates with desert life. The publication of this major German post-war novel was a sensation. In no other novel are the founding years in Germany portrayed so unvarnished, compelling, and literarily successful. With Werner Bräunig, an author of significance was discovered thirty years after his death—one of those early deceased who left behind an extraordinary body of work. Worse than the ruins, four years after the end of the war, is the uprooting and the desolate condition of the people. In the Wismut AG, the massive uranium mining operation in the Ore Mountains, war returnees and fortune seekers, rebels and idealists, German miners and Soviet management come together. This state within a state reflects the situation in the newly founded republic, showcasing both the fierce will to rebuild and the emerging challenges.