heiligen Wassern

In the remote Swiss village of Sankt Peter, high in the rain-starved Glotter Valley, an ancient aqueduct carries the lifeblood of the community through treacherous mountain passes. When glacier rupture threatens this fragile lifeline, the village performs the Wassertröstung: a fateful lottery drawing lots to determine which family must send its men to repair the conduit in conditions that claim lives. The Blatter family Seppi and Fränzi, along with their children Vroni and Josi is chosen. What follows is a harrowing meditation on sacrifice, the weight of superstition in isolated communities, and the unyielding demands of a landscape that offers no mercy. As the father ascends into dangerous heights, the novel traces the fracture lines that spread through family, community, and the soul of a place where ancient legend meets brutal necessity. Jakob Christoph Heer captures with unflinching precision the moment when tradition becomes trap and love becomes ransom.