Eugen Ruge
Eugen Ruge (b. 1954) was born in the Soviet Union but grew up in East Germany, where he studied mathematics and became a research assistant at the GDR Academy of Sciences. In 1988 he emigrated to West Germany and began his career as a writer, playwright, and documentary filmmaker. He now divides his time between Berlin and the island of Rügen.
Ruge debuted in 2011, at the age of 57, with the autobiographical novel In Zeiten des abnehmenden Lichts (Rowohlt), published in English as In Times of Fading Light (Faber & Faber, 2013). This novel tells the story of three generations of a German-Russian family and sketches the history of Germany in the twentieth century. The book was awarded the Aspekte-Literaturpreis and the prestigious German Book Prize.
This novel also garnered international acclaim for the skilful way Ruge interweaves major historical events with the banality of everyday life. Apart from English, it has been translated to Dutch, French and Italian. Ruge's second novel Cabo de Gata (Rowohlt) was published in 2013. This tale of a quest for meaning, detachment, and gratitude was also well received.
Ruge's writing style is characterized by a light tone and clear, simple language that displays the brilliance of his subtle humour.
Eugen Ruge will stay in the writers' apartment near the Porte de Hal in January 2016. He is one of three German authors who will come to Brussels as writers-in-residence in the course of 2016, in connection with the Dutch and Flemish role as Guests of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair.