Sunrise

by Michael Köhlmeier

Der Hollywood-Boulevard in Los Angeles bei Sonnenaufgang: Der Vagabund Leo Pomerantz überquert die Fahrbahn, die Tänzerin Rita Luna tritt aus einem Striptease-Lokal, und auf der anderen Straßenseite steht - der Tod. Seine Sichel, mit der er Leo treffen wollte, verfehlt ihr Ziel und bringt stattdessen Rita zur Strecke. Die will sich mit dieser Ungerechtigkeit nicht abfinden und bittet den Tod um eine zweite Chance. Also ordnet der einen ungewöhnlichen Wettbewerb an, um zu entscheiden, wer sein Leben lassen muss...

Genres: School, Classics, German Literature, Fiction, Read For School, Ebooks, Germany

93 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Michael Johannes Maria Köhlmeier ist ein österreichischer Schriftsteller, Musiker und Moderator.
Er lebt als freier Schriftsteller in Hohenems und Wien.

Reviews

[Kathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gnaaaahhhh I hate myself so much! So I was reading this fabulous book, you know, and it's very thin, and short, and I had put my finger the last page to hold the book better while reading (which makes total sense, it just sounds like it doesn't), and then I took one wrong glance and...you can guess what happened: I read the last fucking sentence of this book. Which happened to be the ultimate plot twist, so no biggie or anything, ha. Just...WHY. I regret it so much, because it's such a cool Twilight Zone-style ending. Not sure if my mind would have been blown, but I don't want to rule it out! Fuck you Kathi for ruining good things completely on your own. Anyway! Such a crazy-good book! A shame it is so short, really, although I'd argue that may help its particular charme....but why do charming things always have to end so soon? If I'm ever going to write books, I would want them to be similar to this one. Weird plot, quirky characters, funny and interesting conversations, simplistic and "talkative" writing style, easily accessible to everyone, all coupled together with a GREAT and fitting ending that should definitely not be spoiled by stupid readers beforehand. Yup, I enjoyed this book a lot!!! Yes, it's not exactly deep or life-changing, you probably won't think about it on your death bed or when you get hit by the death's sickle (totally a reference to the novel), but sometimes that's just exactly what you want from a book. And while it is unchallenging, it's definitely not stupid; rather smart, really, in that it manages to make characters come alive over the course of so little pages, to incorporate an interesting and I'd say very unique plot and to top it all of by being really really entertaining. The dialogues are GOLD, exactly how I want my characters' conversations to be. Sadly, since this is a good book and I have no complaints whatsoever (except about my stupidity), that's already all I have to say. 4 stars because my only minor complaint is that it's not longer and leaving me alone quite early, and because I'll probably forget it soon since it lacks any deep messages that would make me think about it, but it was still really really good and I'm VERY glad I read it!!!

Edit: Thinking about getting a copy for myself, but 10 EUR for not even 100 pages? I'm so torn...

Edit2: Not a good title, quite unimaginative compared to its content.

Edit3 because I have things to say: This strikes me as another typical Kathi-book, a definition for Kathi-books can be found in my review for Perfectly Preventable Deaths.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

That plotwist at the end 👌👌

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

See, the premise of this is absolutely phenomenal in my opinion. The story within a story bit? Amazing. Two people arguing in front of Death for who of the two should get to live? Fascinating. The execution was maybe not completely my cup of tea - I didn’t really expect the characters to argue their case (if you want to call it that) in this particular way - but if it had only been that I’d have given it three stars.

However, I have this one minor (major) complaint and it’s the fact that Death (who is telling this story about the two people arguing for their life to a hitchhiker) described Rita’s breasts for more than a page, which to me makes zero sense since they don’t really play a major role in the rest of the story (unless I missed something?). Like Death at one point likened them to racketeers extorting people for protection money? While this was at the beginning of the book when the reader didn’t know that the hitchhiker telling the story was Death and only a minuscule part of the entire thing in the grand scheme of things, I just can’t just get over it, especially since, at the end, it was revealed that Richard, the hitchhiker, is actually Death - which to me made that page dedicated to the description of Rita’s breasts even more absurd. Since this has been bugging me so much this was sadly just two stars for me.

[leti lo yeti · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stelline ☆
Lo stile è abbastanza facile da seguire, anche per chi non parla il tedesco come lingua madre. Avevo già intuito il finale.

[mors · Rating 3 out of 5]

War ok

[triniii · Rating 3 out of 5]

Also das nennt man Plottwist

[EVAN · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok, so, i wasnt supposed to finish this book (Haras, Otama and Jay, dont u dare tell on me!), but, as u can see, i did.

its a brilliant book, full of random and funny stuff. Its also a short read, easy to read in one go and u can read it at any time (doesnt really have a distinctive vibe to it). I especially enjoyed the last part of the book. Very iconic and cool.

[Christoph Kühnen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die Darstellung des Todes beschäftigt die Kunst, die Kultur und natürlich auch die Literatur. So findet man in der Regel ein Skelett mit einer Sense, das genau weiß, wer als nächstes an der Reihe ist. In Sunrise wird der Tod ein klein wenig anders dargestellt. Das hat imponiert. Das Buch hatte ich bei Letusreadsomebooks gefunden.

Ein unentschlossener Tod
Leo soll sterben. Doch ganz so einfach ist das nicht, denn dem Tod unterläuft ein Fehler. Seine Sichel verfehlt das geplante Opfer und trifft anstatt dessen Rita. Tod gefällt sie sich nicht, findet ihre Situation auch ungerecht und protestiert. Mit Erfolg, denn der Tod lässt sich nun von Leo und Rita darlegen, warum sie denn gerade nicht sterben sollen. Dafür hat jeder von ihnen 30 Minuten Redezeit.

Die Gespräche und die Reden, also im Prinzip das ganze Buch, sind so geschrieben, wie man spricht. Das macht die Protagonisten zwar authentisch, aber zur gleichen Zeit erschwert es die Lektüre. Ich muss mich bei solch einem Schreibstil immer erst länger akklimatisieren.
Die Themen berühren dann schon wieder interessante Fragen: Ist der Tod gerecht? Ist er konstruktiv? Ja gar Weltfremd? Diese Themen kommen teilweise aus dem Nichts heraus, sodass man zum Schmunzeln gezwungen wird.
Ich fand ebenfalls die Darstellung des Todes erwähnenswert. Hier haben wir es mit jemandem zu tun, der auch Fehler macht, der unentschlossen ist und der tatsächlich Beratung in Anspruch nimmt. Der Autor stellt seine Darstellung des Todes somit in scharfem Kontrast zu den herkömmlichen Todesdarstellungen, was dem sehr kurzen Buch doch einen schönen künstlerischen Touch gibt.

Ich fand Sunrise wirklich lesenswert und kann es zum Stillen des kleinen Lesehungers gerne und guten Gewissens empfehlen.

[Emilia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ich weiß ja nicht. Das Ende war gut aber ich bin nicht in die Story reingekommen :(

[Lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Das erste deutsche Buch, nachdem ich seit langem privat gegriffen habe. Vor einigen Jahren habe ich schon ein anderes Buch von ihm gelesen und mochte es gerne, also hatte ich die Erwartungshaltung, dieses auch zu mögen, was sich allerdings nicht bewahrheitete.
Eine nette Novelle mit einem irgendwie kindischen Twist, erinnert mich an Gruselstories, die sich meine Freund*innen früher erzählt haben.
Allerdings kann man bei 74 Seiten nicht unbedingt meckern, also nochmal lesen würd ich es selber nicht, aber wenn man es jemand mal in einem offenen Bücherschrank findet und 1-2 Stunden Zeit zum lesen hat, würd ich auch nicht davon abraten.

[Rory · Rating 3 out of 5]

God this ending....sooo good

[Ally Magic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erstaunlich gut für ein Schulbuch! Und sehr guter Plottwist am Ende!

[Dia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Forgettable read with a compelling premise but somewhat weird writing style

[Zitrolena · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3 I had to read this book in highschool and it's one of the few books that I kept on thinking about. This book is weird - it's written in the way I think - all over the place, jumping around, rambling about unnecessary things, no dot or comma... but even tho I don't know what to learn from the book yet, I feel like it's sth big

[Lea-Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eindeutige Leseempfehlung!
Liest sich in einem Rutsch weg - zu Beginn ein wenig zäh, man gewöhnt sich aber an den Schreibstil.
Das Ende war unglaublich überraschend und regt zum Nachdenken an. Eignet sich tatsächlich sehr gut als Schullektüre!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread meines alten Schulbuchs:

Der Plottwist am Ende ist wirklich gut gelungen. Schade nur, dass der Rest des Buches da meiner Meinung nach nicht mithalten kann. Leider "nur" 3 Sterne von mir, da mich der Inhalt einfach nicht wirklich überzeugen konnte.

[Ady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short but well-written story is about the brevity of human life and what living can consist of in diverse social environments without judgement. Don't miss it.
Written and read in German language.

[Brigitte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gefällt mir von Mal zu Mal besser

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gutes Ende, bissi anstrengende und langatmige Erzählweise teilweise. Aber für nicht mal 100 Seiten voll okay.

[Sabrina Myriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

am anfang nicht so fan vom stil, aber dann pfauuuuuuuu

[Laura Pernsteiner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda boring

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

ehhhhh

[Marlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

quick read for school. the ending was quite surprising. i liked ritas charakter

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this at school many years back and I can still remember how I felt about the story at various stages...

Two men are waiting for a ride and one of them tells a story to pass the time. In the story, Death wants to take a man - but by accident, his scythe hits a woman. Neither of them want to die and to help Death decide who deserves to stay alive, they both tell Death about their lives.

I remember the basic concept did seem interesting to me but the narrative describing the lives of that man and woman seemed to go on forever and was written in a way that did not appeal much to me at all. However, what saved it for me was the ending. The guy who tells the story about Death finishes at this point; the one who's been listening doesn't want either the man or the woman to die and suggests there should be someone else who finds a solution to this conundrum, someone else Death can take instead. In this moment it is revealed that the guy who told the story IS Death... and agrees with the other guy's solution and takes him instead of the man and woman in the story.

So this turn at the end was a reason why I liked it - and in retrospect, I guess this narrative leads to other interesting questions, such as how do you define a life's worth, what is fair when it comes to death, would you even want to continue living if it meant someone else had to die in your place etc.

These interesting concepts are the reason why I do appreciate this book in some way but I can only give it three stars because the way the story was told, the style of writing, just did not appeal to me at all, and I felt no emotional connection to the characters.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

We had to read this book in class. Most of my classmates didn't quite understand this book. I think they were confused by the switching of the people telling the story inside of the book and the people which where in the story being told.
I, on the other hand understood it quite well from the beginning and genuinely enjoyed the way this book was written.

Would definitely recommend this book, especially as a quick read.

[lära · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 / 5

I‘ve read this book ages ago in my first year of highschool and rediscovered it lately when rearranging my bookshelves. I vaguely remembered liking it a lot back then and thought, why not give it a go? I can still see why I liked the book back then and even though I was not as amazed by it as I remember being the first time, it was a nice reread.

[S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trotz des geringen Umfangs ist dieses Buch ein echt beeindruckendes Werk. Flüssig zu lesen und in toller Sprache erzählt Michael Köhlmeier vom Tod, der eine wichtige Entscheidung treffen muss. Hört sich düster und traurig an, ist aber tatsächlich total unterhaltsam und spannend. Sunrise ist mein erster Köhlmeier und hat mir definitiv Lust auf mehr gemacht.

[sullengirl1996 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read it for class and at the start I absolutly hated it but it gets so much better after like page 60. I think this was a really intresting topic and the plot twist at the end was crazy but the writting style was kinda weird.

[nati · Rating 3 out of 5]

An manchen Stellen finde ich es zu detailliert und langgezogen, aber es liest sich schnell. Der Ende ist das beste an dem Buch.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very unexpected ending! Great narration, “easy” and interesting to read.