“Being apart is a different way of being together”
Perhaps living together is more about searching for the essence of being human than about finding physical resemblance or ideological consensus. For years, Deborah Levy has been exploring the complex emotions of our existence and the intersection where the personal and the political meet. In her novels, autofiction, plays, and poetry, she investigates the major themes of our time: freedom, identity, desire, power, authorship, and womanhood.
About Deborah Levy
South African author Deborah Levy (1959) has written, among others, the acclaimed novels Swimming Home , Hot Milk – the film adaptation of which was released in the summer of 2025 starring Emma Mackey – and August Blue . Things I Don't Want to Know was the first of three 'living autobiographies', a new genre that Levy created single-handedly. All of Levy's work is filled with philosophical reflections, complex feminist consciousness, and everyday observations. Always sharp, witty, and with an unerring eye for the absurdity of modern existence.
In her latest book My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein (De Geus, 2026), Levy explores the life and work of the legendary writer and art collector Gertrude Stein. Ultimately, she poses a question that is both personal and universal: what does it mean to be truly understood?
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