The Others
Sheena Kalayil

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Published: 2025

Longlisted for the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction

It is 1989, and in a small Baltic city in East Germany, the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, three young people from vastly different backgrounds become friends. Armando is a factory worker from Mozambique, Lolita is a medical student from India, and Theo is an East Berliner who dreams of being a writer.

When Armando and Lolita make a grisly discovery, they find themselves caught up in the politics of Theo’s homeland more than ever before. While a quiet revolution sweeps through Eastern Europe, and the Berlin Wall teeters, the three find themselves entangled in a poignant love triangle which threatens their futures.

As the world order shifts, their three lives are bound together in a web of love, lies and fears, leaving each irrevocably changed.

Leafy plant illustration

Set in 1989 in east Germany, The Others by Sheena Kalayil follows three friends experiencing the taste of freedom in very different ways. Full of compelling characters, it is a gripping story of love and immigration.

Cariad Lloyd

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