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C.H.BECK
Susanne Simor
Original language
German
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At the Tree of Gods

Hans Pleschinski

On an evening in April 2019, city councillor Antonia Silberstein sets off from Munich's Marienplatz for a very special sightseeing tour. She is accompanied by writer Ortrud Vandervelt and the librarian Therese Flößer. The destination of the whimsical walk of the three women: the former villa of a great forgotten man, hidden behind a wall. Antonia Silberstein has bold plans for this villa, but she needs good advice from an expert. Press praise: "A wonderfully narrated novel, a nobly appointed city walk, a book that can cheer us up and enlighten us. Not only in Munich" Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, Michael Braun "A Munich capriccio (...) loosely impressionistic with many clever and witty reflections on the present day" Welt, Tilman Krause "In its liveliness and polyphony, (the novel) reads like a record of a bygone era" Süddeutsche Zeitung, Antje Weber "Fun to read, one appreciates Pleschinski's irony and humor and learns a lot" Die Rheinpfalz "Hans Pleschinski turns the game of possibilities into great literature" titel thesen Temperamente "A novel full of keen observations and historical insights" SWR Bestenliste März 2021: position 8 " (Pleschinski) brings the almost forgotten author (...) back into consciousness in a linguistically strong and sharp-tongued manner. Noble literature" HÖRZU "Hans Pleschinski does not get lost in the historical matter, he looks at Heyse from today's point of view (...) great pleasure to read" BR, Tilman Urbach "Hans Pleschinski's text comes across as brisk and elegant. (...) Pleschinski successfully creates absurdly funny and hilarious scenes" Deutschlandfunk, Helmut Böttiger

Already on the walk, the women, meandering between cars, passers-by, traffic islands, are at odds over the rank, work and legacy of the man whose former residence they could transform into a spectacular cultural centre: Paul Heyse.

Heyse (1830-1914), the first “real” German winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, was highly honoured at his time. A liberal, handsome man with a lovable charisma, author of novels, plays and 180 (!) novellas, is forgotten today, so even in Munich only a tunnel reminds of him. Did he deserve this?

In his new novel, Hans Pleschinski tells knowledgeably, sharp-tonguedly and comically about Heyse's life and work, about fame and transience and the ever-threatened richness of culture in a world that is deteriorating. With a close look at the present, he ignites a highly entertaining firework display in sparkling dialogues.
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Published by C.H.Beck

Main content page count: 288 Pages