The Second Greatest Love
Does love suffice?
Michelle is in her early thirties, when her life in the East of Germany falls apart. She leaves everything behind and starts a new life as a receptionist in a luxurious hotel in a big city. Here, she encounters luxury, West German wealth – and Henry. A man who had very different opportunities in life, who has never wanted for anything. Despite all their differences, they fall in love, head over heels. And for the first time, Michelle believes a carefree life might be possible. But it wouldn’t be a novel by Ruth-Maria Thomas if all the beautiful certainties weren’t eventually shaken to their core ...
A novel tackling the two great narratives of our time: the idea that everyone is the architect of their own fortune on the one hand, and the widespread experience of being at the mercy of circumstance on the other.
»One of the most terribly beautiful love stories right now.« – NDR Buch des Monats
»It’s a novel which draws you in with wild intensity, right up to its spectacular ending.« – DIE ZEIT
- A modern love story that shows how big and how small the divides in our society can be
- For readers of Coco Mellors, Emma Cline and David Szalay
- Instant #3 SPIEGEL bestseller
Ruth-Maria Thomas, born in 1993 and raised in Cottbus, worked as a social worker in youth welfare. She studied at the German Literature Institute in Leipzig. Her bestselling debut novel was nominated for the German Book Prize and won the Ulla Hahn Prize. In 2025, she hosted a radio podcast. ‘The Second Greatest Love’ is her second novel.
.jpg "Ruth-Maria Thomas")