After many years away, Andreas returns to his childhood home: a small island off the Norwegian coast where he grew up with his sister Minna.

A reimagining of Buechner’s classic play Woyzeck, the tale of jealousy, love turned to hate, and murder and its consequences propels this internationally acclaimed novelThe novel W. is a literary prequel to one of modern literature’s touchstone texts, the play Woyzeck—the basis of films, operas, and numerous translations and adaptations. Considered the first modern drama, Woyzeck tells the story of a loyal foot soldier who, in a fit of jealous rage, kills the woman he loves. In 1836 this true story inspired Georg Buechner to write the play, unfinished at his death at just 23 years old....