At the Wolf's Table

At the Wolf's Table (Italian: Le assaggiatrici; "The [Female] Tasters") is a 2018 novel by Italian author Rosella Postorino, with the English translation by Leah Janeczko. It is about a woman, Rosa Sauer, who becomes a food taster for Adolf Hitler during World War II. This is the first novel by Postorino to have an official English translation.^[1]

First edition

It was originally published by Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore in Italy in January 2018.^[2]

Background

Postorino derived the story from that of real-life food taster Margot Wölk.^[1] The author used her own given name for the fictionalized version of the inspiration.^[3] Postorino learned about Wölk in 2014 after reading an article about her in an Italian newspaper, but Wölk died before Postorino had a chance to interview her.^[3] Postorino decided to write a novel with a fictional character due to the fact she never got to speak to Wölk.^[3]

Plot

The main character is telling the story while in the present day as a senior citizen.^[4]

Reception

The novel won the Premio Campiello literary prize.^[3]