The Lake

Won the 2017 EU Prize for Literature. Awarded with the Magnesia Litera Prize as Best Book of 2016. Won the EBRD Prize for Literature 2023.

The Lake is a raw account of life in a devastated land and the harsh, primitive circumstances under which people fight to survive.A dystopian page-turner about the coming of age of a young hero, which won the 2017 EU Prize for Literature. A fishing village at the end of the world. A lake that is drying up and, ominously, pushing out its banks. The men have vodka, the women troubles, the children eczema to scratch at. Born into this unforgiving environment, Nami, a young boy, embarks on a journey with nothing but a bundle of nerves, a coat that was once his grandfather's and the vague idea of searching for his mother, who disappeared from his life at a young age. To uncover the greatest mystery of his life, he must sail across and walk around the lake and finally dive to its bottom.