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Der vierzigjährige Bekker sieht sich mit der Erkenntnis konfrontiert, daß sein Leben trotz glänzender Begabung und Vielversprechender Anfänge gescheitert ist. Er sucht Flucht und Rettung in bitterbösen Analysen einer Umwelt, die ihm als »Zuchtstätte des Idiotismus« erscheint. Die Beziehung zu seiner erwachsenen Tochter Grit, die von seiner Seite aus auch auf inzestuösen Phantasien beruht, gibt ihm für einige Zeit Halt. Umgekehrt kann er Grit in einer schweren gesundheitlichen Krise zur Seite stehen. Doch je mehr er sich zum trunksüchtigen und mißvergnügten Narren entwickelt, desto problematischer wird ihr Verhältnis.
- GenresFiction
178 pages
First published January 1, 1980
About the author
Botho Strauß
90 books42 followersBotho Strauß is a German playwright, novelist and essayist.
Botho Strauß's father was a chemist. After finishing his secondary education, Strauß studied German, History of the Theatre and Sociology in Cologne and Munich, but never finished his dissertation on Thomas Mann und das Theater. During his studies, he worked as an extra at the Munich Kammerspiele. From 1967 to 1970, he was a critic and editorial journalist for the journal Theater heute (Theater Today). Between 1970 and 1975, he worked as a dramaturgical assistant to Peter Stein at the West Berlin Schaubühne am Halleschen Ufer. After his first attempt as a writer, a Gorky adaptation for the screen, he decided to live and work as a writer. Strauß had his first breakthrough as a dramatist with the 1977 Trilogie des Wiedersehens, five years after the publication of his first work. In 1984 he published his important work Der Junge Mann (The Young Man, translated by Roslyn Theobald in 1995).
With a 1993 Der Spiegel essay, "Anschwellender Bocksgesang" ("Swelling He-Goat Song"[N 1]),[2] a critical examination of modern civilisation, he triggered a major political controversy as his conservative politics was anathema to many.
In his theoretical work, Strauß showed the influence of the ancient classics, Nietzsche, Heidegger as well as Adorno, but his outlook was also radically anti-bourgeois.
His work as a writer has been recognized with numerous international awards and his dramas are among the most performed in German-language theatres.
Strauß presently lives in Berlin.
Botho Strauß's father was a chemist. After finishing his secondary education, Strauß studied German, History of the Theatre and Sociology in Cologne and Munich, but never finished his dissertation on Thomas Mann und das Theater. During his studies, he worked as an extra at the Munich Kammerspiele. From 1967 to 1970, he was a critic and editorial journalist for the journal Theater heute (Theater Today). Between 1970 and 1975, he worked as a dramaturgical assistant to Peter Stein at the West Berlin Schaubühne am Halleschen Ufer. After his first attempt as a writer, a Gorky adaptation for the screen, he decided to live and work as a writer. Strauß had his first breakthrough as a dramatist with the 1977 Trilogie des Wiedersehens, five years after the publication of his first work. In 1984 he published his important work Der Junge Mann (The Young Man, translated by Roslyn Theobald in 1995).
With a 1993 Der Spiegel essay, "Anschwellender Bocksgesang" ("Swelling He-Goat Song"[N 1]),[2] a critical examination of modern civilisation, he triggered a major political controversy as his conservative politics was anathema to many.
In his theoretical work, Strauß showed the influence of the ancient classics, Nietzsche, Heidegger as well as Adorno, but his outlook was also radically anti-bourgeois.
His work as a writer has been recognized with numerous international awards and his dramas are among the most performed in German-language theatres.
Strauß presently lives in Berlin.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 3, 2011
Botho Strauss is interesting in that he has almost Thomas Bernhard-level spite and contempt for humanity, but has the deranged vulnerability and sensuousness of Robert Walser. He's definitely fascinating to read if you have much interest in contemporary(ish) German novelists.
I finished reading this in a boathouse and it made me cranky for the entire evening. My girlfriend made me sleep on a wicker loveseat, I was such a pill.
I finished reading this in a boathouse and it made me cranky for the entire evening. My girlfriend made me sleep on a wicker loveseat, I was such a pill.
October 10, 2020
Abgründig. In der Erinnerung wirkt er für mich mit seinen düsteren Stimmungsbildern und der zentralen Figurenkonstellation (Vater-Tochterverhältnis) wie ein gesellschaftlicher Schauerroman, nur eben in der Gegenwart angesiedelt und ohne fantastischen Elemente.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews