Rowohlt. Berlin Verlag 2010

Lále’s name isn’t really Lále, her name is Lábán Lenke. In Hungarian Lábán means “on somebody’s leg.” Apart from her mother, nobody has ever called her that. But Lále can’t remember ever having sat on her mother‘s leg, which is why she doesn’t think the name suits her. When Lále moves to Germany, she again is confronted with the question of her name. She considers “Lenke,” but in German the name would constitute a strange blend of three words: „Lenken“(to steer), „Link“(left) and „linkisch“(clumsy), so she decides to continue using the name Lále. Hungarian writer Léda Forgó focuses on identity in this new novel, depicting many aspects of it through her protagonist Lále. In 2008, Forgó was awarded the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize (Förderpreis) for emerging non-German language authors. ...