Infanta

Kirchhoff won the German Author of the Year award for this novel set on a tropical island during an election that is turning into a revolution. Kurt Lukas, a passive but beautiful German man who subsequently turns out to be a photographer’s model, arrives in a small village inhabited by a group of elderly Jesuit priests. They invite him to stay with them, partly through boredom and curiosity but also because they wish to find a suitable mate for their beautiful young ward and servant. The young man’s presence allows the priests to confide their own small but treasured memories of sexual love. Well written and well translated, Infanta is full of amusing and touching reflections on the nature of sacred and romantic love.