The café on the edge of the world

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The Café on the Edge of the World - A Tale of the Meaning of Life (Original English title: The Why Cafe ; previously The Why Are You Here Café ) is a bestseller published in 2003 by John Strelecky .

content

In the fictional story, advertising manager John, stressed by his everyday life, happened to reach the “Café of Questions”. This is far away (“on the edge of the world”).
On the cafe menu, John discovers the following questions:

  • Why are you here?
  • Are you afraid of death?
  • Do you live a full life?

These questions are then discussed with the help of a longer dialogue between John and the other protagonists (the waitress Casey, the cook Mike and Anne, a regular guest of the café). A core theory of the book revolves around the purpose of existence ("ZDE"). That purpose is found when a person knows why he is alive and doing the things he is doing.

Dissemination and reception

The book has been translated into over 30 languages ​​and is a worldwide bestseller.

Criticism / Reviews

In his review, the critic Stephan Schleim deals with various theses in the book, such as the statement "We all determine our own fate." and refutes them using various examples. So he draws u. a. the conclusion that the author unilaterally blames the individual for his / her fate and excludes social framework conditions: "What happens here is an individualization of fates, as is characteristic of neoliberal thinking."

expenditure

  • John Strelecky: The Why Are You Here Café self-published 2003
    • John Strelecky: First book publication within a publishing program: The Why Café , Da Capo Press, Boston 2006
    • German: Das Café am Rande der Welt , dtv , Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-423-25357-4

Sequels

In 2015 and 2019 sequels appeared under the names "Wiedersehen im Café am Rande der Welt" and "Auszeit im Café am Rande der Welt".

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Read Think & Write: The Café on the Edge of the World - John Strelecky. In: Read Think & Write. October 23, 2017, accessed March 3, 2019 .
  2. ^ Dtv Verlag: The Café on the Edge of the World by John Strelecky | dtv. Retrieved March 3, 2019 .
  3. ↑ John Strelecky: The café on the edge of the world. Large Print: A story about the meaning of life . dtv Verlagsgesellschaft, 2014, ISBN 978-3-423-25357-4 ( google.hu [accessed on March 3, 2019]).
  4. ↑ Das Café am Rande der Welt, Klapptext, dtv, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-423-25357-4
  5. ↑ book report. Retrieved March 3, 2019 (German).
  6. ↑ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): 'The History of Bees' is Germany's top-selling book of 2017 | DW | 03/01/2018. Retrieved March 3, 2019 (UK English).
  7. ↑ Peter Dunkhorst: A celebration for number 1 on the "Spiegel" bestseller list. In: John Strelecky & Friends GmbH. October 5, 2015, accessed March 3, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Stephan Schleim: A visit to the "Café on the Edge of the World". December 31, 2019, accessed December 31, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Wirth & Horn-Informationssysteme GmbH- www.wirth-horn.de: Reunion in the café on the edge of the world by John Strelecky | dtv. Retrieved August 26, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Wirth & Horn-Informationssysteme GmbH- www.wirth-horn.de: Time out in the café on the edge of the world by John Strelecky | dtv. Retrieved August 26, 2020 .