Rooted in the author's firsthand experience as an East German who bore witness to the fall of the Berlin Wall at the age of sixteen, Distant Signs explores the complexity of familial bonds, love, and life behind and beyond the iron curtain.Against the backdrop of seismic political upheaval in 1960s East Germany Margret, a professor's daughter hailing from the city, and Hans, a man rooted in a tranquil Thuringian forest village are embroiled in a family saga. Their love story is colored by the clash of their disparate origins and the lingering emotional wounds inflicted by a war-torn childhood. As historical events play out, the secrets of two families are revealed.Anne Richter's exquisite prose translated from German by Douglas Irving, paints a vivid portrait of a society marked by change while paying homage to the quiet strength that exists within the most trying of times.

Anne Richter was born in 1973 in Jena, in the former German Democratic Republic. Her degree in Romance languages and English included study periods in England, Italy and France. In 2011, Anne was nominated for the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize, a highly regarded German-language literary award. Her debut novel, Distant Signs, was published in Germany in 2013. Anne is currently writing her second novel.