The window to heaven
The window to heaven is a novel by the Austrian writer Elisabeth Escher from 2020.
content
The exceptionally imaginative “gypsy girl” Marie Muth was taken away from her mother, a prostitute, at the age of three in the 1960s and, after a stay at home, was given to a heartless foster family. Only then does their life begin without the daily fear of death. The painful years have already inflicted deep wounds on the child. Jakob Selinger, Catholic priest and religion teacher in the small town of Schönboden, takes the girl into his parsonage. The rumor mill is soon seething in the village: The idiosyncratic priest has long been said to have had a marriage-like relationship with his housekeeper. Now he is also accused of going after his ward, which is growing into an exceptionally attractive woman, recognizable to everyone. The line between gossip and slander is tight. Although abysses of human thought and action open up, the story also tells of the power of love, which is hope and healing at the same time.
target group
The novel 'Das Fenster zum Himmel' is aimed at a readership who is interested in the story of a disturbing individual fate and in its social background and who values authenticity and the stringent preparation of the plot in literary language. Since the explosive reports about the abuse and abuse allegations of former pupils in the 1960s and 1970s, the issue of foster children has been in the public eye. The authentically documented story of the girl Marie Muth (fictional name) is a reflection of the time when most people, especially in the village area, knew about the martyrdom of children and still looked the other way, which corresponded to the consensual behavior.
output
- The window to heaven . Novel. Bernardus Verlag, Aachen 2020, ISBN 978-3-8107-0320-0 ; Carton, 315 pages, German
