Karen Duve is an exceptional figure among the authors of her generation. When the Hamburg writer Leon finds his dream house on the edge of an East German marsh, everything seems ready for a happy idyll. But the marsh and the mire of human relationships are treacherous. Just as the snail infestation and the incessant rain attack the foundations of the house, indifference and coldness permeate Leon and his marriage. A stray dog and the erotic confusions surrounding the tough Kay and her insatiable, overweight sister Isadora accelerate the decay. Karen Duve's first novel is like the marsh in which it is set: merciless and beautiful, ambiguous, unpredictable, and full of shimmering details.