Luísa Sobral

A sweeping debut novel that intertwines the lives of two women across a divided Germany, revealing the hidden costs of love, history, and the walls—both real and invisible— that shape us.

Spanning the darkest decades of twentieth-century Germany, Not All Trees Die Standing is a tale of love, loss, and survival on both sides of the Berlin Wall.

Emmi comes of age in the shadow of Hitler’s rise to power. After losing her father to the war, she shoulders the burden of work from a young age—until a chance meeting with Markus, a man from East Berlin, offers her a glimpse of love and hope. Against her mother’s wishes but with her sister’s blessing, Emmi follows him across the border into the GDR. At first, happiness seems within reach. But when the Wall goes up, the price of loyalty and the weight of secrets begin to tear her world apart.

Years later, M. is born into a divided nation, the model child of socialism. Raised by a plant-loving nanny and devoted to a father she adores, M. grows up sheltered from the West, cocooned in a carefully crafted illusion. Until a shocking revelation cracks the façade—and she discovers that it isn’t only the Wall that hides another side.

With a bold structure and unforgettable characters, Luísa Sobral’s debut novel illuminates the intimate costs of history, asking what it means to love, to endure, and to see beyond the walls that shape us.

“A book about faith in love, the beauty within relationships, and even hope itself.”— “A magnificent debut in the genre.” — Miguel Real, Jornal de Letras

“As expected from a singer-songwriter, the prose reveals lyrical sensitivity. What surprises is the mastery of narrative structure in such an unconventional debut novel.” — Expresso

“A narrative of separation — of nations divided by walls and families split by silence — told with a circular elegance that transforms tragedy into beauty.” — Expresso

“Just as in botany, not all species are as legible as they first appear. Sobral’s novel slowly unveils this truth with striking subtlety.” — Diário de Notícias

“An exemplary work, lyrical and tragic, as complete and harmonious — and as rebellious — as a musical score.” — Público

“A complex, layered debut where prose, diary, aphorisms, poetry, and a living herbarium intertwine to tell a story about walls, divisions, false hopes, and the redemptive power of truth.” — Público

“What began as a newspaper clipping became a song, then a play-in-progress, and finally, a novel. A story that refused to end until it found its true form.”— Observador

“A book about faith in love, the beauty within relationships, and even hope itself.”— Visão