Review: Der Mantel der Erde ist heiß und teilweise geschmolzen von Nina Bußmann

Nelly, eine Seismologin, verschwindet in der Karibik. Beim Rundflug mit einer Propellermaschine, den sie mit einem Freund unternimmt, verschwindet das Flugzeug plötzlich vom Radar. Das Wetter war gut, die Maschine war vollgetankt, ein Absturz erscheint unwahrscheinlich. Als nach einigen Monaten Trümmerteile geborgen werden, scheint der Beweis gefunden zu sein. Doch von den beiden Passagieren fehlt jede Spur. Verfolgt wird die Suche nicht nur von Nellys Partner, der in der weiteren Handlung keine große mehr spielt, sondern vor allem auch von ihrer langjährigen Freundin, die namenlos bleibt und aus deren Sicht die Geschichte erzählt wird. Als diese der verschwunden Nelly in die Karibik nachreist, begibt sie sich nicht nur auf die Suche nach Antworten bezüglich des Absturzes, sondern auch nach der Antwort auf die Frage, wer Nelly eigentlich war. Durch Erinnerungen, Gespräche mit Bekannten, gefundene Dokumente und Vermutungen versucht sie ein ‚objektives’ Bild von Nelly zu schaffen. Gefärbt ist diese vermeintliche Objektivität jedoch durch die Erinnerung der jeweiligen Personen auf die sie sich bezieht – Nellys Kollegen auf einem Forschungsschiff, ihre Mitbewohnerinnen in der Karibik, ihre Affären und Partner.

Der Roman ist atmosphärisch sehr stimmig. Ob Studentenwohnheime in Deutschland, Forschungsschiffe auf hoher See oder Wohngemeinschaften in der Karibik, ich befand mich gefühlt sofort an den Orten, die Nina Bußmann beschreibt. Die Freundschaft der beiden Frauen wird als eher unterkühlt, kalkuliert und von Missverständnissen geprägt beschrieben. Keine der beiden kann die andere ‚richtig’ wahrnehmen. Beide lebten in ihrer eigenen Blase, gefangen nicht nur an ihrem jeweiligen Ort, sondern auch in ihren Gedanken.

Die beiden Frauen zeigen außerdem Anzeichen mentaler Instabilität, sie sind beeinflusst von Depressionen, Ängsten, Antriebslosigkeit oder selbstzerstörerischem Verhalten. Vielleicht sind es genau diese Ängste die es den beiden unmöglich macht, auf die jeweils andere empathisch zu reagieren. Denn beide isolieren sich, können nicht aus ihren eigenen Zwängen ausbrechen. Die Reise der Freundin ist somit sowohl als ein Versuch der Flucht aus ihren realen und mentalen Zwängen, als auch als Schritt in die beklemmende Situation Nellys zu verstehen, in der sie sich kurz vor ihrem Tod, der im Buch auch als möglicher Freitod dargestellt wird, befand. Die Verschmelzung der beiden Frauen an Nellys letztem Ort führt gleichzeitig zu einer Art Auflösung der klar umrandeten Identität der Freundin. Als Nellys Freundin in die Karibik reist, zieht sie nicht nur in Nellys altes Zimmer, sie befreundet auch ihre Mitbewohner, besucht dieselben Orte, es ist fast so, als versuchte sie Nellys Leben zu leben. Immer tiefer dringt sie in Nellys Vergangenheit ein und konfrontiert sich mit ihren Emotionen. Sie imaginiert Ordnung und Klarheit im Ende Nellys, doch möglicherweise konstruiert sie damit nur ein gedankliches Gegenstück zu ihrem persönlichen Chaos:

“Im Moment des Aufpralls, vor dem Genickbruch, bevor die Wellen über ihnen zusammenschlagen, heißt es, zieht den Sterbenden ihr Leben vor den Augen vorbei. In aller Ruhe, wie im Film. Das ganze echte Leben: auf einmal eine lückenlose Linie, alle Tage, nicht die Alpträume, nur die Tage, in schönen kadrierten Bildern. Das ganze Flickwerk, sie hat es selbst so genannt, das Nellys Leben gewesen sein sollte, endlich in eine Reihenfolge gebracht.”

Das Buch ging mir anfangs sehr nahe, die mentalen Gefängnisse in denen sich beide Frauen offensichtlich befinden löste bei mir eine sehr große Beklemmung aus. Ich konnte zwar die Rastlosigkeit der beiden Charaktere nachempfinden, je mehr sie sich jedoch in der Karibik (oder in ihren Vorstellungen) verloren umso mehr löste sich für mich die Struktur des Buches auf. Dies mag einerseits ein Stilmittel der Autorin sein, andererseits war es so schwieriger, der Geschichte zu folgen und den Sinn des Ganzen zu verstehen. Die emotionale Nähe, die ich anfangs für Nelly und ihre Freundin empfunden rückte mehr und mehr in den Hintergrund. Vielleicht war dies jedoch genau das Gefühl, dass die beiden Freundinnen füreinander empfanden. Die Erinnerung an eine Nähe, welche sich jetzt im Chaos aufzulösen scheint?

Review: Flucht in den Norden by Klaus Mann

Klaus Mann, son of the famous German writer Thomas Mann, wrote this novel after he had to flee Germany and its ruling Nazi regime in 1933. It was the first novel to be written during the time of his exile.

The novel closely mirrors the events of the life of Klaus Mann. It is centered on Johanna, a young German woman who, just like Mann, had to escape the terror of her home country because of her involvement in the anti-Nazi resistance. So she flees to Finland, where she finds refuge at the family estate of her university friend Karin. The family, especially Karin and her brothers, hold conflicting views about the political issues of the time. Johanna’s presence then acts as a catalyst, setting off unforeseen changes in the family, which is battling with the political turmoil and crippling financial instability.

But it is not only the political tension that is changing the dynamics in the household. It’s also the complicated emotional bonds and romantic relations between the characters. Johanna falls for Karin’s brother Ragnar, she also has a brief affair with Karin herself.

The novel is as romantic as it is political and it seems that it’s only through the political forces that Ragnar and Johanna find together. Johanna struggles to choose between staying with Ragnar, whom she only has just met, and leaving Finland again to join the resistance in Paris, where her friends fight the Nazis. Ragnar fails to understand her struggle and wants her to stay, while Johanna, despite hating her home country, still feels responsibility and guilt about what’s happening in Germany.

I was extremely moved by this novel. The language very warm and emotional. Mann stays very close to his characters, Johanna especially. I felt like even though the subject matter is very dire and the decisions and troubles that the characters are facing are very extreme, Mann still manages to find beauty. Not only in the love story between Ragnar and Johanna, but also in his description of the Finish landscape. The novel concludes as a road trip, and through this trip, Mann finds a beautiful way to convey the essence of the characters. In the desolate north of Finland, were everything is stripped bare, emotions are also being purified. Mann uses similar language in describing the people and the landscape. Both are sublime but also rugged, unyielding and exposed to the elements.

Here is a short autobiographical chronicler of his time, which also features this quote of his:

“But this ill-fated, vexed, guilt-ridden people, do I not belong to them? I feel a share of the guilt.”

Review: The Nazi and the Barber

The Nazi and the Barber is the novel about Max Schulz, barber, SS man, mass murderer and later a fighter for the Jewish state of Israel. If you think this sounds pretty bizarre you are not mistaken, it really is.

The novel describes the course of Max Schulz’s life: his childhood friendship with his Jewish friend Itzig Finkelstein, the beginning of the Second World War and his active involvement in the SS and how he assumes his dead friends identity to avoid punishment. The plot of the novel is definitely very absurd, moving from hair salons to concentration camps and later to a new life in Israel.

The German author Edgar Hilsenrath, who wrote the novel, was a Holocaust survivor. Even though the book was originally written in German, it was first published in many different countries. In Germany, publishing houses had a hard time with the content and were worried how the German readers would react to the novel. It did get published eventually and it is of great importance that it did. The book forces the reader to look at the Second World War through the eyes of an active participant in the holocaust and a committed National Socialist. The story often takes very extreme turns, Schulz does not seem to have a sense of how absolutely horrific his crimes are, especially at the times when he is still in the middle of committing them. I felt that this, in its absurdity and unparalleled cruelty was actually a very accurate picture of the mindset of many people during the Second World War.

Max Schulz is continually trying to blame other people for his behaviour. It was the state, his mother, his stepfather, whoever it is, he never truly claims responsibility but continues to hide behind other people. So when Schulz talks about his horrific crimes, he hides behind orders without showing any feelings of remorse, isn’t that exactly what happened far too many times?

I thought this novel was difficult to read. It was unpleasant to be with this opportunistic and spineless, yet absolutely devoted Nazi who is also “just a normal guy”. Also I was questioning the reactions I had to the content and the book’s often satirical form. Is this funny? What is it, he is really saying? A lot of times it was not easy to see clearly. I felt that because of the form of the novel, I, as the reader. was asked to engage with it even more. Somehow a satire often requires more reflective thinking because it makes you question the relationship of fiction and reality. Hilsenrath presented a scale of moral and amoral decisions the protagonist is taking and through those actions he speaks to the reader. Where should Schulz have stopped? Where is Schulz crossing the line? The novel in that sense can be seen as a meditation on the banality of evil (to quote Hannah Arendt), the “normality” of the perpetrators and the cold rationality and bureaucratic thought they put into building a machine of repression and death. It is an important piece of literature that should be read and reread as an effort to contribute to some form of understanding of the crimes that happened during the Second World War.

I was also very fortunate to see the novel adopted into a theatre play in Cologne. The whole play was performed by only two actors, which set a strong focus on the theme of identity. Both actors performed both the role of Schulz and Finkelstein, taking turns being the oppressor and the victim, the Nazi and the Jewish friend. On stage the moral issues that the book raises came to life in a very uncomfortable way. It was a very small theatre and everyone in the audience was very moved by the play. In one scene the two actors debate what punishment Schulz should hypothetically get. He killed thousands of people after all. The two actors debate what form of death would be just. Schulz replies something like, “No matter how I die I can only die once. And even if I were to die ten thousand times this would not help either. I can not take their deaths, can not take their fear and can not bring back the lives they could not live.” The other actor replies: “In that case: you are acquitted.” They laugh.

Review: The Wallcreeper by Nell Zink

Stephen and Tiff have a car accident because of a bird. And in the accident pregnant Tiff looses her baby. After the accident Tiff is no longer pregnant. What starts off as an emotional plot is actually anything but. All the pages that follow are an unemotional, cynical rambling about sex, bird watching and eco-terrorism. Stephen and Tiff move from American to Europe, or rather Stephen wants to move and Tiff follows:

“I wasn’t a feminist. […] I couldn’t come up with a step I’d taken in life for my own sake.”

They spend time in Berne and Berlin, try to save rivers and fail to get into Berghain. They have a lot of sex, rarely with each other and usually it is quite uninteresting, despite Nell’s obvious effort to make it somewhat raunchy.

Even though the characters stay two dimensional throughout the whole novel they still managed to annoy me. I just didn’t get why I should care about anything these two utterly annoying narcissists were up to.

I got the impression that the novel was written by someone who does not like women very much. Maybe this was an act that should get readers to reflect upon what is considered expected behaviour of women in general and in novels in particular but to me it failed to deliver that.

Also, due to the weak plot (if one can even call it that) I couldn’t make out the themes or purpose of this novel. It may have sounded bizarre and intriguing but I couldn’t connect to the story or the characters. To me Zink failed to deliver anything of substance. I would not recommend this to anyone.

The novel did however also manage to surprise me. In it’s stubborn refusal to give me what I wanted from it, it made me question what I expect from a novel. Why do I choose a particular novel in the first place? Why do I expect an author to deliver certain characters that will make me feel emotions that I imagined having when I picked out the book? Why does it anger me, when I am faced with characters that don’t fit in neat boxes of action and reaction? As much as I hate to say it, the disliking of this novel, has made me question my reading habits, my expectations and emotional involvement in novels and the responsibility of any author towards their readers.