Glaring Days

There is melting, there is wobbling, something in our world has been out of balance for a long time. The ice is disappearing, leaving behind mud and craters. Mammoths are uncovered and they soon attract hunters – finally they can sell ivory without killing for it. The events of Glaring Days happen simultaneously and its characters effortlessly transcend time and space. A 13,000-year-old tattered wolfhound appears in a dried-up Brandenburg lake, at the shore of which sits teenager Jo, sweating and never sleeping, lest the world dissolve even further right before their eyes. But the dewy climate has not only set the ground in motion – the mountains are shifting as well: the Matterhorn is now missing its horn. The wolfhound and Jo set out on a wild road trip together, buy gravel at the hardware store and steal a car to fill the hole in the mountain. But the tattered dog is steadily losing substance, even though he is determined to complete the mission. His decomposition has long since begun.

Selma Matter tells a dystopian story that deals with a frightening new mobility and deformation of our word with complexity and quiet humour. In doing so, Matter invents a virtuoso and vivid language that dissolves increasingly alongside its characters and ultimately asks: what remains?