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Privatklinik
Privatklinik - bk1551; Heyne Verlag; Heinz G. Konsalik; pocket_book; 1978
- GenresRoman
219 pages, Perfect Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
17 people want to read
About the author
Heinz G. Konsalik
572 books83 followersHeinz G. Konsalik (pseudonym of Heinz Günther) was a German novelist.
Many of his books deal with war and showed the German human side of things as experienced by their soldiers and families at home, for instance Das geschenkte Gesicht (The Mutilated Face), which deals with a German soldier's recovery after his sledge ran over a personnel mine and destroyed his face, and how this affected his relationship with his wife at home. It places no judgment on the German position in the war and simply deals with human beings in often desperate situations, doing what they were forced to do under German military law.
Der Arzt von Stalingrad (The Doctor of Stalingrad) made him famous and was adapted into a movie in 1958. Some 83 million copies sold of his 155 novels made him the most popular German novelist of the postwar era and many of his novels were translated and sold through book clubs. He is buried in Cologne.
Many of his books deal with war and showed the German human side of things as experienced by their soldiers and families at home, for instance Das geschenkte Gesicht (The Mutilated Face), which deals with a German soldier's recovery after his sledge ran over a personnel mine and destroyed his face, and how this affected his relationship with his wife at home. It places no judgment on the German position in the war and simply deals with human beings in often desperate situations, doing what they were forced to do under German military law.
Der Arzt von Stalingrad (The Doctor of Stalingrad) made him famous and was adapted into a movie in 1958. Some 83 million copies sold of his 155 novels made him the most popular German novelist of the postwar era and many of his novels were translated and sold through book clubs. He is buried in Cologne.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 22, 2022
Dr Konrad Lingen well know psychiatrist/brain surgeon has his own clinic and has the world at his feet. His is also a raving alcoholic who requires drinking before surgery which gives him feelings into his fingers which he lost through an accident. He will disregard his life, his wife and child, sleep with a mental patient, get her pregnant, escape to the debauchery, the filth, roll in his own vomit, unable to stop drinking and embracing his own hell. A priest will come in and out of his life, the priest also a raving alcoholic, unable to control his evil desires. Another alcoholic will nearly lose his family, stuck in a mental institution with uncontrollable degenerates trying to stop the evil inside. Redemption stories, recovery, this is pulpy trash at its best but the author can write and we feel for these characters deeply. Dark, trashy goodness.
March 28, 2015
Scroll down for the English version.
La lotta contro il mostro
Avevo da un po’ di tempo questo libro, non so neppure come me lo fossi procurato, e ho iniziato a leggerlo perché incuriosita dalla descrizione.
In realtà, e direi anche per fortuna, la storia narrata ha ben poco a che vedere con la quarta di copertina, che descrive solo un dettaglio di una delle storie che si intrecciano in questo bellissimo romanzo, ma soprattutto non fa il minimo accenno all’argomento principale che lo anima: l’alcolismo.
Un medico, un operaio, un sacerdote, la giovane rampolla di una famiglia facoltosa, persone diverse che si incontrano all’interno della storia proprio a causa della loro dipendenza dall’alcol.
L’autore entra nella mente dell’alcolista e riesce a mostrare al lettore quale filo di pensieri spinge il primo a tornare bere, anche dopo essere stato malissimo e aver giurato se stesso che avrebbe smesso, anche se questo significa trascurare le persone che ama e che l’amano, anche se può portarlo a un passo dalla morte, anche se ciò costringe lui e la sua famiglia alla povertà, anche se sa perfettamente il motivo di questa sua malattia, tanto da essere in grado di consigliare altri come lui.
L’alcolismo è il mostro che controlla i protagonisti di questo romanzo, che li accompagna nella loro discesa all’inferno. Alcuni non ce la fanno e vengono sconfitti, soprattutto se non hanno nessuno cui affidarsi. Altri, che hanno la fortuna di poter contare sui propri cari, trovano la forza, o almeno obbligano se stessi a trovarla, per combatterlo, e magari vincerlo.
La meravigliosa prosa di Konsalik scorre tra disperazione, ironia e speranza, tra una lacrima e un sorriso, finché arrivi alla fine con la sensazione di aver ricevuto un dono.
The fight against the monster
I’ve had this book for some time, I don’t even know how I got it, and I started reading it because I was intrigued by the description.
In fact, and I would say fortunately, the narrated story has little to do with the back cover, which describes only a detail of one of the stories that intertwine in this beautiful novel, but mostly it does not make the slightest reference to the main theme: alcoholism.
A doctor, a worker, a priest, the young scion of a wealthy family, different people meet in the story precisely because of their addiction to alcohol.
The author enters the mind of the alcoholic and manages to show the reader what train of thought leads the former to drink again, even after feeling very bad and having sworn to themselves that they would stop, even if it means neglecting the people they love and that love them, although it may take them to the brink of death, even if it forces them and their family out of poverty, even though they perfectly know the reason for their illness, as to be able to advise others like them.
Alcoholism is the monster that controls the protagonists of this novel, accompanying them in their descent into hell. Some don’t make it and are defeated, especially if they have no one to rely on. Others, who have the good fortune to be able to count on their loved ones, find the strength, or at least oblige themselves to find it, to fight the monster, and maybe win.
The wonderful prose of Konsalik flows between despair, humour, and hope, between a tear and a smile, until you reach the end with the feeling of having received a gift.
La lotta contro il mostro
Avevo da un po’ di tempo questo libro, non so neppure come me lo fossi procurato, e ho iniziato a leggerlo perché incuriosita dalla descrizione.
In realtà, e direi anche per fortuna, la storia narrata ha ben poco a che vedere con la quarta di copertina, che descrive solo un dettaglio di una delle storie che si intrecciano in questo bellissimo romanzo, ma soprattutto non fa il minimo accenno all’argomento principale che lo anima: l’alcolismo.
Un medico, un operaio, un sacerdote, la giovane rampolla di una famiglia facoltosa, persone diverse che si incontrano all’interno della storia proprio a causa della loro dipendenza dall’alcol.
L’autore entra nella mente dell’alcolista e riesce a mostrare al lettore quale filo di pensieri spinge il primo a tornare bere, anche dopo essere stato malissimo e aver giurato se stesso che avrebbe smesso, anche se questo significa trascurare le persone che ama e che l’amano, anche se può portarlo a un passo dalla morte, anche se ciò costringe lui e la sua famiglia alla povertà, anche se sa perfettamente il motivo di questa sua malattia, tanto da essere in grado di consigliare altri come lui.
L’alcolismo è il mostro che controlla i protagonisti di questo romanzo, che li accompagna nella loro discesa all’inferno. Alcuni non ce la fanno e vengono sconfitti, soprattutto se non hanno nessuno cui affidarsi. Altri, che hanno la fortuna di poter contare sui propri cari, trovano la forza, o almeno obbligano se stessi a trovarla, per combatterlo, e magari vincerlo.
La meravigliosa prosa di Konsalik scorre tra disperazione, ironia e speranza, tra una lacrima e un sorriso, finché arrivi alla fine con la sensazione di aver ricevuto un dono.
The fight against the monster
I’ve had this book for some time, I don’t even know how I got it, and I started reading it because I was intrigued by the description.
In fact, and I would say fortunately, the narrated story has little to do with the back cover, which describes only a detail of one of the stories that intertwine in this beautiful novel, but mostly it does not make the slightest reference to the main theme: alcoholism.
A doctor, a worker, a priest, the young scion of a wealthy family, different people meet in the story precisely because of their addiction to alcohol.
The author enters the mind of the alcoholic and manages to show the reader what train of thought leads the former to drink again, even after feeling very bad and having sworn to themselves that they would stop, even if it means neglecting the people they love and that love them, although it may take them to the brink of death, even if it forces them and their family out of poverty, even though they perfectly know the reason for their illness, as to be able to advise others like them.
Alcoholism is the monster that controls the protagonists of this novel, accompanying them in their descent into hell. Some don’t make it and are defeated, especially if they have no one to rely on. Others, who have the good fortune to be able to count on their loved ones, find the strength, or at least oblige themselves to find it, to fight the monster, and maybe win.
The wonderful prose of Konsalik flows between despair, humour, and hope, between a tear and a smile, until you reach the end with the feeling of having received a gift.
May 5, 2013
Es war mein erster Konsalik und ich war schon sehr skeptisch und wollte mir dennoch selbst ein Bild machen und nichts auf die ganzen Voruteile geben die man immer hört.
Leider muss ich aber sagen dass mir dieses Buch überhaupt nicht gefallen hat.
Angefangen beim Schreibstil den ich teilweise wirklich als schwülstig und einfach unschön empfand bis hin zu Geschichte.
Es geht um verschiedene Männer die ein Opfer des Alokoholismus werden und damit ihr bisherigen Leben zerstören. Das Buch ist natürlich schon recht als und spielt wenn ich mich recht erinnere in den 60er Jahren was natürlich einige andere Verhaltensweisen erklärt und auch weshalb mit den betroffenen Personen komplett anders umgegangen wird als heute.
Das Buch zeigt schon wie stark der Alokohl das Leben beeinflusst und nicht nur das Leben des Betroffenen sondern auch seiner Familie verändern und zerstören kann.
Dennoch hat mir das Buch einfach nicht gefallen und ich weiss nicht ob ich mich nochmal an einen Konsalik heranwagen werde
Leider muss ich aber sagen dass mir dieses Buch überhaupt nicht gefallen hat.
Angefangen beim Schreibstil den ich teilweise wirklich als schwülstig und einfach unschön empfand bis hin zu Geschichte.
Es geht um verschiedene Männer die ein Opfer des Alokoholismus werden und damit ihr bisherigen Leben zerstören. Das Buch ist natürlich schon recht als und spielt wenn ich mich recht erinnere in den 60er Jahren was natürlich einige andere Verhaltensweisen erklärt und auch weshalb mit den betroffenen Personen komplett anders umgegangen wird als heute.
Das Buch zeigt schon wie stark der Alokohl das Leben beeinflusst und nicht nur das Leben des Betroffenen sondern auch seiner Familie verändern und zerstören kann.
Dennoch hat mir das Buch einfach nicht gefallen und ich weiss nicht ob ich mich nochmal an einen Konsalik heranwagen werde
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews