‘Jahre mit Martha’ by Martin Kordić

‘Jahre mit Martha’ (~years with Martha) by Martin Kordić tells the story of Željko, also known as Jimmy, and his love for Martha.

Jimmy, the son of Croatian immigrants from Bosnia-Herzegovina is fifteen when he meets Martha: his mom’s boss, his boss for a summer, wealthy professor, mom. He falls in love with her, and she develops feelings for him as well.

Their romance is slow and spans years. Martha is aware of (some of) the problematic power relations between them, but still can’t stay away from Željko. And at the heart of the story are the diverse problems of immigrants in Germany.

This book represents attraction to more than one gender!

CW: racism, classism, power imbalance in a romantic relationship, marijuana use