33 trenutkov sreče; Iz zapisov pustolovščin Nemcev v Pitru

by Ingo Schulze, Mojca Kranjc (prevajalka)

"Vor einem Jahr erfüllte ich mir einen langgehegten Wunsch und fuhr mit der Bahn nach Petersburg. Ich teilte das Abteil mit einer frisch frisierten Russin, ihrem Mann und einem Deutschen." Hofmann heißt dieser deutsche Mitreisende — und er hinterläßt der Erzählerin nach einer wilden Nacht zwischen Bialystok und Pskow eine Mappe: "Bei allem, was wir einander erzählten, sprach Hofmann auch von täglichen Aufzeichnungen, die er von Petersburg nach Deutschland geschickt habe. Beim Schreiben — er sagte nicht, an wen — habe er sich mehr und mehr der Neigung hingegeben, die Erfindung anstelle der Recherche zu setzen. Denn für ihn, so Hofmann, sie etwas Ausgedachtes nicht weniger wirklich als ein Unfall auf der Straße."
"Hofmanns Erzählungen" — so hätte man dieses fabelhafte, fabulöse Prosadebüt des jungen Berliner Autors Ingo Schulze wohl auch augenzwinkernd nennen können.
Die Einzelnen episoden dieses im besten Sinne eklektischen Bandes erzählen von einer Stadt, die Generationen von Schriftstellern, Künstlern, Musikern — und Lesern — fasziniert hat. Einer Stadt, wo aus jedem Kanaldeckel die Geschichte hervorzuquellen und jede Mauer von einer feinen Patina überzogen scheint. Doch trotz dieser alles überlagernden Pracht des Vergänglichen, das nie vergeht — oder gerade ihretwegen —, eignet sich 'Piter' vorzüglich als Projektionsfläche für Schulzes literarische Phantasien.
Als Fremder hat er ganau hingesehen und oftmals ein kleines Detail aus dem Alltag aufgegriffen, das sich in seiner geradezu überbordenden dichterischen Vorstellungskraft zu einer komischen, grotesken, manchmal auch tragischen Geschichte auswächst. Ein ausgeklügeltes Vexierspiel, das mit erzählerischer Verve die große Tradition der Petersburger Literatur aufgreift und zugleich eine ganz eigene, ganz unverwechselbare Stimme der deutschen Gegenwartsliteratur präsentiert.

Genres: Short Stories, German Literature, Fiction, Russia

303 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Ingo Schulze is a German writer born in Dresden in former East Germany. He studied classical philology at the University of Jena for five years, and, until the German reunification, was an assistant director (dramatic arts advisor) at the State Theatre in Altenburg 45 km south of Leipzig for two years.

After oversleeping the events of the night of November 9 1989, Schultze started a newspaper with friends. He was encouraged to write. Schultze spent six months in St Petersburg which became the basis for his debut collection of short stories 33 Moments of Happiness (1995). He has lived in Berlin since the mid 1990s.

Schulze has won a number of awards for his novels and stories, which have been translated into twenty languages, among them into English by John E. Woods.

Reviews

[Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Tossing" this book, though that reads like more of a rejection than I really mean. I'm really dropping it in the Better World Books bin near where I live. It has no underlining!

After all, the front cover has an L.A. Times quote, "Fantastic and fantastical!" Who am I to say that these stories are not memorable? But in fact I suspect that the L.A. Times reviewer couldn't tell us a single thing about any of these stories, today. Still, as any decent book, it was not a waste of time to read.


[Original non-review]
I'm sure I enjoyed these stories, since I don't finish a book if I find it a drag. But after 10 years I can't remember a thing about them.



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[Nicholas Beck · Rating 2 out of 5]

33 Moments of Bleak really. The happiness is fleeting and buried deep in these tales of Russia post perestroika. Short vignettes of Soviet life amidst a harsh climate both personal and political, I struggled with these short stories and never really seemed able to connect to any of the characters. Apparently they are based on a myriad of Russian stories and there's a short glossary at the back which provides some helpful connections. Have to say that unless you have read a wide range of Soviet literature, you'll likely miss many of the allusions.

[Lawrence · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too overwhelmed by 33 moments of happiness frankly to give a damn. Perhaps there could have been far fewer moments to endure. While some of the stories were marginally interesting, many were just downright dull. It's an exercise in stylistics, references completely missed by me, and a largely tedious set of exercises at that. Done with Ingo Schulze, I am happy to say. He's had his chance to generate my interest and he's repeatedly failed. He just doesn't seem to have anything to say; that perhaps explains why he needs far too many pages to say it.

[Franziska · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope, i didn't enjoy it. It's a collection a very short episodes (not even stories?) but without a connection. I found it hard to follow.

[Meter]

i love this book.

[Pitichi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una noia mortale! Poteva essere un capolavoro, invece per me è stato uno strazio dall'inizio alla fine!

[Diana Carabadjac · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sau eu nu ma pot concentra asupra cartii sau cartea e despre nimic. Sunt momente in care nu inteleg legatura dintre propozitii.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

After charging in delight hrough the first ten or so stories, marveling at their freshness and gentle fantasy, I gave up on page 212, defeated by the repetition (33 stories is too much!) and the cloying replication of classic Russian prose styles. Defeated.

[will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Schulze has some very solid short stories in this collection, but others fall a little flat. The best are truly surprising and precise.

[Anna Bodzoń · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wzięłam z jakiejś wymianki, wiem już dlaczego ktoś to oddał (uczynię to samo przy najbliższej okazji). Nie mam pojęcia o czym jest to książka, nie mam pojęcia dlaczego tytuł ma jaki ma, nie wiem co to właściwie miało być. Jest w niej wszystko: od ludożerców, poprzez jakieś magiczne zdarzenia po jedzenie kurzych kup. Ale na końcu znajdują się odniesienia, że jakieś nawiązania do Puszkina, żywotów świętych, Chlebnikowa. Więc może to ja jestem niezbyt mądra 🤷‍♀️ Po raz kolejny przeklinam cechę „nieporzucania” książek 🤯

[IWB · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
I'm not literate enough in literature to recognize all the inside references, winks and nods, that Schulze injects into these stories; and this is after looking at the editorial notes in the back.

Some of the stories were interesting,if not bleak, while others I simply wasn't sure anything was happening beside author stylistics.

[Sukhdeep Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bright in some spots, drags in others.

[Garret Cook · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just did not like this

[Marko]

I have the original german edition: 33 Augenblicke