Can an eleven-year-old boy succeed where others have failed? Can he recover a kidnapped child, disprove a false accusation of assault or win a sleep-deprivation competition that has driven others mad with tragic consequences?

He can, if he is accompanied by a black rooster, his protector and friend. And if he is Martin, orphaned after a massacre, full of wisdom, courage and a pure heart. Too good for the selfish and idiotic villagers around him, his integrity entrances an itinerant painter with whom he departs on a quest. His heroic adventures through a morally abhorrent landscape, physically ravaged by war and famine, keep the reader cheering for him and his companion as this fairy tale for adults unfolds.

Set against a pseudo-medieval post-apocalyptic backdrop reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy, Angela Carter and Missouri Williams, this novel shines with the inner radiance of good deed in a naughty world that will leave you haunted, horrified, and completely riveted.

Stefanie vor Schulte, born in Hanover in 1974, studied stage and costume design. Her first novel Junge mit schwarz Hahn was awarded the Mara Cassens Prize for the best German-language debut in 2021. She lives in Marburg with her husband and four children.

Alexandra Roesch studied languages and business and worked in banking before becoming a literary translator. She has an MA in translation from the University of Bristol. In 2018, she was longlisted for the Goethe Institute's Helen & Kurt Wolff Prize. Previously translated authors include Hans Fallada, Seraina Kobler and Merle Kröger.