Fehler machen

by Gabriel Josipovici, Katja Scholtz (translator)

Charlie und Bea trennen sich routinemäßig alle paar Wochen und kommen doch nicht voneinander los. Beas Schwester Dorothy hingegen, eine prinzipienfeste Frau, scheint mit Tony eine Traumehe zu führen. Doch die eingespielte Rollenverteilung gerät außer Kontrolle, als auf einer Dinnerparty Alfonso, ein Freund aus gemeinsamer Studentenzeit, provokant daran erinnert, dass vor einigen Jahren die Paarverteilung genau andersherum war, und damit ein amüsantes Chaos herauf beschwört, bei dem kein Beziehungsstein auf dem anderen bleibt. Die beiden Paare geraten immer tiefer in einen Rosenkrieg mit allen Schikanen und wechseln – nicht nur einmal – die Partner ...
In meisterhaft orchestrierten Dialogen erzählt Gabriel Josipovici von den Naturgesetzen der Liebe: Zwei Menschen brauchen einigen Aufwand an Argumenten und Entlarvungen, bis sie zueinander finden, Irrwege nicht ausgeschlossen. Denn in der Liebe gibt es keine Fehler, sondern nur falsche

Genres: Fiction

152 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2009

About the author

Gabriel Josipovici was born in Nice in 1940 of Russo-Italian, Romano-Levantine parents. He lived in Egypt from 1945 to 1956, when he came to Britain. He read English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, graduating with a First in 1961. From 1963 to 1998 he taught at the University of Sussex. He is the author of seventeen novels, three volumes of short stories, eight critical works, and numerous stage and radio plays, and is a regular contributor to the Times Literary Supplement. His plays have been performed throughout Britain and on radio in Britain, France and Germany, and his work has been translated into the major European languages and Arabic. In 2001 he published A Life, a biographical memoir of his mother, the translator and poet Sacha Rabinovitch (London Magazine editions). His most recent works are Two Novels: 'After' and 'Making Mistakes' (Carcanet), What Ever Happened to Modernism? (Yale University Press), Heart's Wings (Carcanet, 2010) and Infinity (Carcanet, 2012).

Reviews

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two expertly hewn novellas from the master of sparse speech-driven prose.

[Terry Pitts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two short novels written in Josipovici’s most minimalist style; both consist of little more than dialogue. "After" concerns a woman who reappears in a man’s life after a fifteen year disappearance. She seems to be threatening him and very slowly the story of their strange past unfolds. "Making Mistakes" is a modern version of Mozart’s "Cosi fan tutti," in which two couples exchange partners and then change back again. Josipovici’s writing in these two novels really forces the reader to stay alert, because it’s a challenge to keep track of the who, where, and when of what is going on. Each is amusing and terse, to the point.

[Charly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could these 2 'stories' be novellas? Unsure myself because both, unusually, are composed of almost entirely straight dialogue / conversations. The 2nd, in which middle class, professional couples fantasize what 'swinging' ie swapping partners, might be like emotionally, was the least interesting to me. Not sure why I picked this title up.

[Jeff Bursey · Rating 3 out of 5]

For my review, go here:

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