Kaja Meyer’s book debut begins quietly and almost inconspicuously: the main character Worm is having breakfast in the dining room while a new day begins outside his window. But internally, he is plagued by a nameless pain for which even the sky knows no answer. Thus, Wurm embarks on a journey that will bring more questions than certainties, more opaqueness than clarity.

Inspired by the worm that is briefly mentioned as a symbol for suffering in Franz Schubert’s song cycle “Winterreise” from 1827, Kaja Meyer examines the emotional landscapes that are not easy to grasp but can be shaped graphically. With stylistic variety and atmospheric abstraction, “Was drängst Du denn so wunderlich, mein Herz?“ finds images in the face of existential uncertainty that float across the page like the sets of a theater piece while at the same time inviting readers to get lost in every detail.