Sound sample (novel)

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The sound sample is a novel by Siegfried Lenz published in 1990 . The title goes back to the fact that stonemasons determine the quality of a stone block based on the sound it makes when you hit it. The characters in the novel are also put to the test by strokes of fate.

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The novel revolves around the stonemason and sculptor Hans Bode and his 24-year-old son Jan; it is told in first person form from Jan's perspective. Jan has not found a job as a teacher and is currently working as a department store detective . There he catches the penniless translator Lone stealing, but does not report her out of pity, but instead gives her and her orphaned nephew Fritz living space in the former school building where his family lives. Lone and Fritz bring new life into the family, and a relationship develops between Jan and Lone.

The stone sculptor Hans Bode has been dissatisfied with his undemanding routine work and Jan's lifestyle for some time. Secretly he had hoped that Jan would take over the business. After all, the first grader Fritz is beginning to be interested in the art of stonemasonry and is learning a lot from Hans, whom he calls " Grandpa ".

In the end, Hans receives a large assignment in which he can bring his artistic talents to full advantage, and everything seems to be changing for the better for him too. It is about a tomb for a young girl who died early.

When the picture is almost finished, Fritz climbs on it in an unguarded moment. The sculpture tips over, kills Fritz and is destroyed. The relationship between Jan and Lone breaks up, and since Hans does not see himself in a position to recreate the tomb after this event, his hope for a better life is also gone.

literature