In this novel the protagonist struggles with almost solipsistic isolation, alternating with a delight in solitude and routine. In narrative form punctuated by diary entries, the author describes in plain, almost prosaic detail these struggles and the ultimately futile attempt Annette makes to escape their cycle.To read Haushofer well requires and enables courage, for her realities are banal and cold, her consolations bleak, hardworn -- and paradoxical, but one is left with a vital sense of affirmation.