Killing Stella

This potent 1958 novella from Austrian writer Haushofer (The Wall) takes the form of a mother’s agitated confession. Anna, 40, sits by the window in her house while her adulterous husband, Richard; 15-year-old son, Wolfgang; and eight-year-old daughter, Annette, are gone. In the empty house, Anna feels an implacable urge to tell the “pitiful” story of Stella, the 19-year-old daughter of a friend, who recently came to live with Anna’s family and died after being hit by a truck. Stella’s stay starts out amicably enough, but Anna soon reveals the disharmony that contributed to the tragedy. Describing Richard’s coldness to their house guest, Anna notes: “No one is a stricter guardian of morality than the secret lawbreaker, for it is clear to them that humanity would crumble and perish if everyone lived as they did.” Another source of tension is Anna’s attachment to Wolfgang and disconnection from Annette, whom she sees as “just as weak and helpless as a young tiger or carnivorous plant,” in part because the girl reminds her of Richard. Haushofer, who died in 1970, vividly evokes Anna’s shame, fear, numbness, regret, and anger, revealing the depths of claustrophobic unhappiness in her household. This one hits hard. (June)