Ben loves Anna
Ben loves Anna is a children's book by Peter Härtling , published in 1979. The novel was shortlisted for the German Youth Book Prize and received the Zurich Children's Book Prize . It is recommended by the publisher for children from the 2nd grade.
content
Ben is nine years old. At the beginning of the fourth year of school, Anna joins Ben's class. She is a repatriate girl who came to Germany with her family from Katowice, Poland . Although Ben can't do anything with her at first, he can't get her out of his head. They come closer. Ben accompanies Anna to the barracks settlement where she lives with six siblings and parents. He writes her a letter and asks her if she would like to go with him. She replies a while later (“your letter is nice”), but doesn't answer the question “Do you want to go with me?”. They spend a few days together during the Whitsun holidays. Then Ben gets sick, and when he's better, his father tells him that Anna's father has found a job in the Ruhr area. When he can go back to school, they have little time to say goodbye.
Narrative structures
The story consistently takes the narrative perspective of Ben, which has also brought the book certain reservations, since Anna is only the object of Ben's thoughts, but basically remains a minor character. The living situation of repatriates is only hinted at. In addition, it has not only changed since its publication, it also appears to be exaggerated in the book.
Nevertheless, the basic conflict of the story is still topical: At first Ben can't do much with his feelings for Anna and takes refuge in fights with other children, of whom he is jealous. He is always insecure about her feelings for him and feels vulnerable. At the same time, he has relatives and a teacher who respond to him with understanding, support him and do not impose anything on him.
Anna's situation as a stranger at first, but who then makes contact with the other students and hopes to find her way around Germany and therefore reluctantly moves away with her parents, is portrayed realistically. Härtling suggests enough in short scenes that young readers have the opportunity to let their imagination run wild and become curious. In this respect, Ben's narrative perspective corresponds to that of the local German-speaking readers.
The book also sheds light on the social situation of people with a migration background (modest, poor living conditions, language problems, barracks), sometimes directly, but more often indirectly. Mostly in pictures it is conveyed that there are people who have fundamentally different life situations than those people whose entire relatives live around their own place of residence. The concept of home is conveyed to young people in a subtle and differentiated way.
In the context of the newly emerging discussion about the tension between school sex education and the undesirable sexualization of children feared by some circles, the story came under fire because of its isolated use in primary school lessons and the erotic text passages it contained.
The open ending is atypical for a children's book : Anna moves away and it remains unclear whether the protagonists will meet again.
radio play
A radio play was also produced from the novel, which hardly deviates from the novel and in which only a few passages were left out. Peter Lustig spoke among other things as the narrator.
translation
The book was translated from German into Persian by Vahab Haji Bagheri under the title بن آنا را دوست دارد .
book
- Peter Härtling: Ben loves Anna. Novel for children, with pictures by Eva Muggenthaler . 9th edition, Beltz & Gelberg, Weinheim / Basel 2014, ISBN 978-3-407-74099-1 (= Gouliver 1099).
- as audio book: (audio CD), Klett, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-12-675639-6 .