"What do you do when your wonderful, dear sister asks you to help her leave this world because existence is intolerable to her? How to turn such a story into a credible work and, although painful, also tremendously funny? Small Unimportant Misfortunes is a brave novel, quite an exhibition on a tightrope ».
Margaret Atwood

"Toews writes in a deceptively simple style and with such finesse that one wants to savor every word."
Sunday Times

The lives of the Von Riesen sisters could not be more disparate. Elfrieda's existence seems perfect: she is an internationally renowned pianist, a glamorous and happily married woman. Yolandi's, on the other hand, is a real disaster: in the middle of a divorce, she barely manages to make ends meet and feels that her teenage children are growing up too quickly. And yet Elf does not want to continue living, while Yoli would give anything to keep her older sister alive. Sitting at Elf's bedside in the hospital after her latest suicide attempt, dealing with her own little misfortunes, Yoli wonders how to give her sister the strength to carry on, how to resist herself with a broken heart. and, ultimately, how to help someone who wants to die.

Small Unimportant Misfortunes strikes a perfect balance between endearing and heartbreaking, between comedy and tragedy. Miriam Toews's literary genius achieves the impossible: disarming us and making us laugh in the face of misfortune. A captivating, tender and intelligent novel, whose memorable protagonist, Yoli, fights with all her strength against the inevitable, highlighting how fragile our existence is and infecting the reader with a powerful desire to live.