What Was Before
{{italic title}}
{{short description|2010 novel by Martin Mosebach}}
{{Infobox book
| name = What Was Before
| image =
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| author = Martin Mosebach
| title_orig = Was davor geschah
| orig_lang_code = de
| translator = Kári Driscoll
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| country = Germany
| language = German
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| publisher = Carl Hanser Verlag
| pub_date = 2010
| english_pub_date = 2014
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| pages = 329
| isbn = 978-3-446-23562-5
}}
What Was Before ({{Langx|de|Was davor geschah}}) is a 2010 novel by the German writer Martin Mosebach. Through a series of vignettes, it tells the story of a man from the affluent suburbs of Frankfurt, who is asked by his girlfriend what his life was like before they met. An English translation by Kári Driscoll was published in 2014.{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/890937660|title=What was before|via=WorldCat|oclc=890937660 |accessdate=2015-03-17}}
Reception
Publishers Weekly wrote: "Mosebach's charming, exuberant narrator is not be trusted, and the novel calls into question our notions of memory. Mosebach's writing is florid, tinged with a biting wit. ... Irreverent, playful, and intricate, Mosebach's book is a deconstruction of how we choose to tell stories."{{Cite web|author=Staff writer|date=2014-10-20|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-85742-214-9|title=Fiction Book Review: What Was Before by Martin Mosebach|work=Publishers Weekly|accessdate=2015-03-17}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.hanser-literaturverlage.de/buch/was-davor-geschah/978-3-446-23562-5/ What Was Before] at the German publisher's website {{in lang|de}}
- [http://02a07ba.netsolhost.com/books/detailviewlonnew.asp?prodid=4041 What Was Before] at the British publisher's website
Category:Novels set in Frankfurt
Category:German-language novels