Auf See

Yada grows up on Seestatt, a floating community in the Baltic Sea built by her father as a refuge from the chaos of the mainland. Her life is tightly managed through routines, education, medication, and strict limits on what she is told about the outside world and about her mother.

The novel alternates between Yada’s perspective and that of Helena, a woman living in near-future Berlin as an artist and unexpected public figure. Between these strands, archive-style sections present historical and real-world examples of failed or troubled utopian projects, sects, and alternative communities.

As the separate threads begin to connect, Yada starts questioning the story she has been given, while Helena’s role in the wider structure becomes clearer. The book moves toward the hidden links between family, ideology, and the costs of trying to build perfect communities.