The devil of Milan

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The Devil of Milan is a novel by the Swiss author Martin Suter , published in July 2006 , for which he was awarded the Friedrich Glauser Prize in 2007 . The book is dedicated to the couple Anita and Albert Hofmann ; In addition, the motto is preceded by a quote from and thanks to the LSD discoverer Albert Hofmann.

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After her divorce, Sonia, who suffers from synesthesia, wants to distance herself from the life she had lived up to then and accepts a job offer at a secluded wellness hotel in the Lower Engadine , where she works as a physiotherapist. The village of Val Grisch, in which the hotel was (re) opened, does not seem to be very enthusiastic about the new tourism, and Sonia soon notices incidents that have mysteriously to do with the Lower Engadin legend about the devil of Milan could.

Table of contents

Chapter 1

Sonia wakes up in a dark room. She remembers the previous night: the disco, the men and the LSD. That night she began to feel colors and see sounds. Because she is a synesthete . This is a change in perception that certain drugs can trigger. When she leaves the room, she notices that her perception is working normally again. “The doorknob felt cool. Nothing else. Not bitter or sweet and sour, just cool. She entered a darkened room and heard deep, regular breaths. Heard. Didn't hear or see. After all." (P. 1) Finally, after a brief conversation with the man she slept with, she goes home to her apartment. She recently moved into this to escape her past, namely a survived murder attempt by her ex-husband Frédéric, who is now behind bars for it. She kept receiving letters asking her to suspend the proceedings against her husband for the time being. "Slowly, with concentration, she spooned out the soup. But the tears kept flowing. 'Still the soup?' 'Still life,' answered Sonia. " (P. 30) She decides to start a new life and therefore goes to an interview with Barbara Peters, her future boss. Barbara tells Sonia that she bought and renovated the Gamander Wellness Hotel in the Lower Engadine and that it is about to reopen. After some disagreements about her bird Pavarotti, she finally accepts the hotel job offer. There she can go back to her previous job as a physiotherapist, which she had to give up six years ago because of her ex-husband. Later Sonia says goodbye to her best friend Malu, because apart from this no one knows where Sonia is going. Because of Sonia's new cell phone number, only Malu can contact her from now on

Chapter 2

Sonia is sitting alone on the train with her bird Pavarotti. She is happy about that, because she believes that she has left her previous life behind. “It was like shedding a heavy burden. She began a new life with light luggage (p. 32) ». After changing trains several times, you will reach Val Grisch, a small village in the Lower Engadine. There she meets Igor, a porter at the Gamander Wellness Hotel, who takes her to the hotel in a carriage. Then the everyday life of the villagers is described. Sonia finally arrives at the hotel and is introduced to some work colleagues. Igor shows her her room and Barbara leads her through the whole hotel. You also walk past your future workplace, where you are introduced to two other employees: the homosexual Manuel and Mrs. Felix, who are both also masseurs. The following night she is woken up by various noises, which she can also see. Your "talent" is returning. 'Once more that night, a sound startled her from sleep. This time it was crimson and almost transparent around the edges. (P. 52) »The next day, Sonia is allowed to use the hotel's wellness facilities, as the first guests will not arrive until three days later. She goes out to play sports. In doing so, she repeatedly experiences the effects of synesthesia.

Chapter 3

Now the first guests are received in the Garmander. Sonia is now also allowed to take care of her first patient. Before that, however, she still feels disgusted because she is no longer used to the work. Later Sonia goes out to dinner with Manuel and the receptionist Michelle. They talk about Barbara Peters because they all don't know much about her. Sonia learns that Barbara has furnished her apartment in the hotel smartly and that she has a dog named Bango. Nobody knows where the money for the purchase and renovation of the hotel came from. In the evening Sonia meets the night porter, Mr. Casutt. The next day, Sonia wakes up early in the morning. As she comes down into the hall, she notices that the ficus, a smaller tree, has run out of leaves. However, Mr. Casutt does not know how the plant could have perished. "" When you went up I lay down a bit, and when I came out again ... "He pointed helplessly at the leaves." (P. 78) Sonia's own situation catches up with her as a result of this happening and she starts crying unhappily. Suddenly she hears someone crying. She looks and sees that it is a child who is being treated by Mrs. Felix. Soon afterwards, Sonia is supervising the pool. Barbara appears with the gardener whom she has hired to replace the dead Ficus. This had been poisoned with an acid. In the evening Sonia receives a text message from Malu. You need a power of attorney for the post office because of a registered mail. Sonia writes back to her that she shouldn't accept it. The next day Sonia picks Michelle up to go to the village. Suddenly Mr. Casutt appears and claims that he has to relieve Michelle due to a call from the office. However, she denies that anyone from the hotel called him. She suspected a prank call. As the two women leave, Sonia sees that “The Devil of Milan” has been written on the back door of a limousine.

Chapter 4

Mr. Casutt is on guard all night. Sonia, on the other hand, lies in her bed and worries about Barbara Peters and her serenity. Then Sonia goes for a walk to cheer herself up a little. She meets Mr. Casutt, who seems to be doing badly. So she invites him for a drink. He tells her that Barbara Peters gave him one last chance. Sonia tries to convince him that she certainly didn't mean it that way. Later Sonia meets with Barbara in her office for a little chat. She learns that the Germander is only open during the summer and that they do not have any black numbers. When asked where she got all this money from, Barbara evades by inviting Sonia for a drink and promising a surprise. "<I see. No no. We don't have to be in the black in the first year. ›That was the template for the question that interested everyone:‹ From whom? ›‹ From me. - Would you like a cocktail, let's say half past six in the bar? There's a surprise. ›» (P. 104) In the evening in the bar, Sonia sees the surprise: a bar pianist. She meets with Barbara and then she is introduced to Ralph Stahel, a doctor. Together they make an appointment for a treatment. Sonia asks Barbara about the night porter. To her astonishment, she realizes that Barbara actually gave Mr. Casutt one last chance. The next day she treated Dr. Stahel. Sonia begins to smell what she is touching again. She reports to Dr. Stahel of it. Sonia learns from him for the first time that she is a synesthete. «‹ I taste shapes, see tones, smell colors. And so on. ›‹ You are a synesthete? ›‹ Synäwas? ›‹ Synesthesia comes from the Greek and means something like empathy. The perceptions are linked. Sounds get colors or shapes. Touches smell or taste. ›» (P. 113) Sonia has many aptitudes to be a synesthetes. She learns that it was triggered by taking LSD at the disco. A healing method is not known. On one of her walks, Sonia is hit on by a milkman named Reto Bazzell, but she turns him away. He still hangs on her until she gets a call on her cell phone that she is on early duty. Therefore, she has to make various preparations for the wellness facilities. She goes back to the reception hall, where Mr. Casutt has nodded off. Suddenly she sees a bright light coming out of the pool. She looks and finds many glow sticks sunk in the pool.

Chapter 5

Sonia runs to the reception to wake Casutt and take him to the pool. He wants to get the glow sticks out before Barbara Peters comes, but Sonia prevents him from doing so. Barbara appears and rebukes Casutt. She sends him away to get Igor. She suspects that it is the same person who burned the ficus and suspects the villagers. Sonia goes down to the basement to start the various machines for the wellness facilities, but is afraid that the culprit who is sabotaging the germander could be hiding down there. Sonia later learns that Mr. Casutt has been replaced by Igor. Confused, she talks to Manuel about the strange happenings. While Sonia suspects threats, Manuel remains calm and only suspects bad jokes. He also admits that he likes the bar pianist. When Manuel is on late shift, he asks Sonia to fetch a book for him from the library. There she discovers an old book of legends with the title “The Devil of Milan” and takes it with her. In the bar, Manuel and Sonia talk again about the bar pianist and now find out his name: Bob. Manuel is disappointed that the pianist is not homosexual. During the night Sonia reads the legend of "The Devil of Milan".

The devil of Milan

A poor little girl named Ursina has to look after goats on an alp to help her family. It's winter and blizzards are sweeping the country. When her prayers to God go unanswered, she conjures up the devil, who appears in the form of a billy goat to help her. He does, but doesn't tell her the price. "Immediately the wind died down, and a deep voice spoke in the silence of the hut:" The devil of Milan helps better than the Savior. "(...)" What is your price? "She asked in a trembling voice. But the billy goat gave no answer »(p. 145) Since that day, she has been better every time she has to go to the alp to tend the goats. She grows up to be a beauty. Before their ninth visit to the Alp, an old carriage suddenly appears. The only passenger wants to talk to Ursina. It's the devil of Milan. He gives her an offer for an even better life, but that will cost her soul, but mentions additional conditions: “When autumn comes in summer, when night falls during day, When the embers burn in the water, When it comes to day at the twelfth Blow. When the bird becomes a fish, When the animal becomes a man, When the cross moves south, Only then do you belong to me. " (Pp. 146–147) Ursina accepts the offer under these conditions. She gets into the carriage. The devil keeps all his promises. "Until one day on a glorious day in July ..." (p. 147) With this sentence the legend is interrupted. One page is missing. The last part, however, is intact. One learns that the castle where Ursina lived went up in flames and that nothing more of her could be found.

Chapter 6

Sonia wakes up on the twelfth stroke of the bell. Sandro Burger, the Siegrist, realizes that the clock is seven hours ahead. Someone manipulated her. In the staff room, Sonia talks to Manuel about it, but he remains calm and doesn't find anything strange about it. By a remark from Dr. Stahel, whom she treated, Sonia notices a connection between the events and the conditions that the devil set of Milan. 'Hadn't it met on the twelfth strike? And didn't the glow sticks in the pool look like an underwater fire? When the embers burn in the water! (...) When autumn comes in summer? Of course: the ficus! Lose all leaves, like autumn. (...) When night falls, day! (...) Casutt! The night porter who goes on duty in the middle of the day! " (Pp. 158–159) Sonia Manuel then makes the legend read. But he thinks that their connections are far-fetched and that they should calm down. In the evening Sonia goes to the bar, where she discovers that the menu is very similar to that of the Steinbock inn, one of the only inns in Val Grisch. She wants to be turned on by Bob the pianist, but suddenly Dr. Stahel in a slightly drunk state. She rejects him. During the night she again had strange symptoms due to the synesthesia. The next morning it's flying weather for your budgie Pavarotti. She opens the cage door and goes out for a walk. On the way, she asked a few residents about the misaligned clockwork. When she returns to her room, Pavarotti is no longer there. After a few moments she realizes what has happened and runs out of the room.

Chapter 7

Sensing evil, Sonia runs to the aquarium on one of the lower floors of the hotel. There she finds Pavarotti, who has been drowned by someone there. At least she can now finally convince Manuel that someone is reenacting the legend "The Devil of Milan". She also believes the target is Barbara Peters. She then went to her and told her about her theory. However, Barbara explains to her that she has been dealing with such "jokes" since the hotel was restored. She still doesn't want to do anything. «‹ And what do you want to do now? ›‹ The same as before: nothing. Don't do them the favor of being intimidated. They are machos. You have to ignore them, that hits them the hardest. ›» (P. 185) Sonia, on the other hand, thinks that one should fight her. Barbara replies that she will not stop her if she wants to go to the police. «‹ But when you go to the police, remember: the whole village is under one roof. ›» (P. 186) The next morning Sonia has had enough and wants to leave. When she wants to say goodbye to everyone in the bar that evening, she succumbs to the charm of the bar pianist Bob. The next day she wakes up next to him. She is unsure whether to go and then decides to stay. She then goes to Mr. Casutt and asks him if he was behind the crime. He denies having anything to do with it. Before Sonia can leave, Mr. Casutt tells her that Reto Bazzell's father had other plans with the gamander, but that Barbara was outbid. Sonia should still be careful of the son, as he is capable of anything. On the way back, Barbara picks up Sonia by car. When asked about Reto, she asserts that he is harmless. When Sonia has finished her work, Barbara appears in the staff room. She reports that Bango, her cocker spaniel, has disappeared.

Chapter 8

Sonia is on early duty again and goes down to the basement. She finds a joint in one of the relaxation rooms. She knows that none of the guests smoke weed. She runs up to tell Barbara about it. Meanwhile, she is more and more concerned about the absence of her dog. Sonia suspects Reto Bazzell because he put a joint sticker on his car and had enough reasons to harm the germander. She is able to convince Barbara by her suspicion to turn on the police. She reports to the officers that she suspects Reto Bazzell of having initiated or committed these strange things. However, Bango is later found wearing human clothes. Another criterion of the legend has been fulfilled: "When the animal becomes human". In the evening Reto has an accident with his milk trailer and dies. Sonia is relieved because she assumes that Reto was behind what happened. In the meantime the Gasthaus Steinbock has taken its specialties off the menu, as the Gamander now offers similar dishes. In the evening, the police appear with objects they found on Reto's body. Among them is a master key that you could use to sneak into Sonia's room. They suspect that Mr. Cassutt gave Reto the key. A little later Sonia receives a text message from Malu, in which she asks where Sonia is exactly. Sonia quickly answers the message. Luzi Bazzell, the father of Reto Bazzell, appears at dinner and curses the whole hotel. «The old man was silent for a moment and seemed to be listening to the music, stunned. Then he raised his fist again and shouted: 'Schmaladida musica dal diavel!' »(P. 230) Later Sonia Malu calls and asks when she will come. But Malu denies that she ever intended to come. Sonia checks the sender of the SMS and realizes that it was sent by Malu's old cell phone. She suspects that someone close to Frédéric must have stolen it. Later, when she wants to treat another patient, she turns out to be Frédéric's mother.

Chapter 9

Frédéric's mother, Maman, tries to persuade Sonia to drop the case against her son by saying that he could never harm anyone and that this act was an accident. Sonia refuses to sign the document. 'Sonia dropped the paper and turned to go. But Maman grabbed her upper arm with an iron grip. ‹Sooner or later he'll come out without you. And then I would be a lot calmer if he had nothing to do with you. 'Sonia grabbed Maman's wrist and freed herself from this hand. Still calm even though her heart was racing. ‹Now you are threatening me with your meek son.› »(P. 241) As she was telling Manuel about the events in the staff room, Ms. Felix suddenly storms into the room and leads her to the crucifix in front of the library door, which is turned upside down has been. Thus the last condition has also been fulfilled: When the cross moves south. Sonia visits Mr. Casutt again. She wants to know from him whether he knew about Reto Bazzell's plan and whether he knew who was going to bring it to an end. But that one is too drunk to answer her. Sonia then leaves the apartment and doubts that Mr. Casutt had anything to do with it. She later meets one of the germander guests and learns that the germander used to belong to Peder Bezzola. She goes to church to pray. There she meets Seraina, Mr. Cassut's old housekeeper. She knows the saga of the devil of Milan, but believes that it is not a saga. Sonia asks her if she can tell her the missing part. Seraina asks Sonia to meet her again the next day.

Chapter 10

Sonia goes to Seraina's apartment, but, contrary to expectations, Mr. Casutt opens the door and tells her that Seraina had been admitted to the psychiatric hospital after a nightly incident. Then Sonia leaves the apartment again. Manuel wants to accompany Sonia on her daily hikes. During the same, Manuel then admits that he didn't like Sonia at the beginning, but now sees her as one of his best friends. On the way back they meet Peder Bezzola. He tells Sonia how he watched Manuel kidnap Barbara's dog. "The devil was seen stowing the disguised dog in his trunk." (P. 275) Thereupon Manuel confesses that he committed all the crimes. He did everything for Sonia's ex-husband, Frédéric. He met him in the psychiatric clinic where Frédéric was admitted after his murder attempt on Sonia. There he told him his version of the marriage story. Frédéric paid Manuel for every deed he did. Sonia also learns that Malu, her best friend, was often in contact with Frédéric. She then confronts Malu by text message. This was also paid to divulge Sonia's whereabouts. Sonia returns to the hotel openly, where Mrs. Felix appears in front of her room. She expresses her condolences and tells Sonia that Barbara Peters wants to drink tea with her. Sonia goes to Barbara's room. Thanks to her synesthesia, she recognizes the scent of her ex-husband there and therefore hides in the room. Shortly afterwards, Frédéric appears in the room. Sonia watches as he distributes several wired canisters around the room and wired Malu's old cell phone with them. He discovers Sonia. She flees the room with presence of mind, locks it and hurries into hers. She switches on her cell phone and sees a text message from Malu, which warns of the escaped Frédéric. She dials Malu's old cell phone number. Barbara's room explodes. All guests and staff of the Gamander gather outside. Mrs. Felix tells Sonia that Frédéric asked her to send Sonia to Barbara's room. «He said he was a mutual friend of yours and Mrs. Peters. He was very nice. He wants to surprise you. ›Sonia is doing so well that she can smile a little and answer:‹ He succeeded. ›» (P. 296) Sonia later learns from a police report that Frédéric's body has been found.

Film adaptations

In autumn 2011, Swiss television filmed the novel together with ZDF . The Devil of Milan premiered on September 25, 2012 at the Zurich Film Festival . Directed by Markus Welter are regulators Grauwiller , Ina Weisse and Max Simonischek seen in the lead roles.

expenditure

Translated into nine languages ​​(as of 2016).

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