The dead man in the village pond
The Dead in the Village Pond is a youth novel by the author Franziska Gehm .
The story “Der Tote im Dorfteich” by Franziska Gehm, published in 2010 in the Gulliver paperback series by the Beltz & Gelberg publishing house , is about a boy named Jannek who visits his grandmother Hanne in the village of Ribberow. During his stay, he and an old childhood friend solve a murder. The novel is popular reading in secondary school and has been reviewed and recommended by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , among others .
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Chapter 1
The main character Jannek Jensen (JJ) goes to his grandmother in Ribberow during the autumn vacation. According to his mother's instructions, he should give his single grandma Hanne a hand there. On the way there he meets his old school friend Till, who drives him in the car to see his grandma Hanne. The two friends arrange a meeting for the next day to go fishing together at the village pond.
Chapter 2
Jannek and Till are sitting by the village pond, fishing and talking about old times when Jannek suddenly pulls a skeleton hand out of the pond on his fishing rod. The youngster, who is still in shock, goes completely black before his eyes. Till, who has got himself under control after a few minutes, tries to calm Jannek down. The two youngsters call the police and inform them about the find. The police are investigating the crime scene and completely pumping out the pond in order to make better progress with the investigation. They discover half a plow and a skeleton. But who is this dead man?
Chapter 3
Jannek tries to distract himself from his find in the pond. He then suffered panic attacks the following night. The next day, Jannek is called by his friend Till, who gives him new information about the deceased. Jannek passes this information on to his grandmother Hanne, who does not want to have known about it beforehand. Jannek tries to deal with the topic and to organize his thoughts and asks Hanne if he can do something for her. She asks him to fetch her a cream from the pharmacy in Großkumerow, a neighboring town, by bicycle. On the way there, Jannek meets Rike, who is also buying something for her father. After Jannek whispers to her that she should wait in front of the building, the two drive back together, exchange ideas and organize a race from Großkumerow back to Ribberow. When the race has been decided, the two talk a little about it and then drive home.
Chapter 4
Jannek and Till investigate Rike's family. The two boys are in a bar playing darts. Jannek tells Till about meeting Rike, who bought sleeping pills for her father in the pharmacy. When the two investigate their family, they find an article about Rike's mother who is said to have hanged herself in a forest. The next day, out of curiosity, Jannek enters his grandfather's old barn and discovers all sorts of things in it, including half a plow. That makes Jannek thoughtful, because he suspects that half the plow that was found on the corpse belongs to the one in the barn.
Chapter 5
The boys learn more about the corpse and its strange past. The police use DNA to identify the corpse as Frank Schelk's and Till informs Jannek of the cause of death. It is not yet clear how Schelk died exactly, it is only clear that he is very well known in Großkumerow and Ribberow. JJ's mother is also surprised when he tells her about the incident. Jannek wonders what role Schelk plays and what connection he has to his mother. Jannek goes back to the pond and hopes that the part of the field plow does not belong to the part in his grandmother's barn. When he gets there, the police are about to take the plow with them, so that Jannek can no longer check it. In the evening Jannek meets with Till to talk about the old days. JJ learns that Mr. Hempel, Till's father, knows the dead man from school. Schelk was very unpopular and is considered a "parasite" (p. 63). The murder seems to be a clear case: Schelk owed his business partner money and actually wanted to flee to China.
Chapter 6
Jannek meets with Rike, who is on the way to see her father. JJ helps her to carry the heavy shopping home. When they arrive, Jannek meets Rike's father, Robert Steinmann. They talk about the junk the boy sees outside the family house. Robert talks about the sculptures he has been creating since the death of his wife. Since he appears nice and friendly, Jannek doesn't understand why Rike's father is treated like a stranger in the village. When asked by Rike whether Jannek believed the rumors that Mr. Steinmann (Rike's father) was the murderer, and whether he only helped her to sniff around, Jannek replied that he just wanted to get to know her father to be sure that it had nothing to do with the murder. When Jannek finally leaves Rike's house, he meets Till, who is driving his car. Jannek tells him about his observations with the Steinmanns, Till reacts very irritably and drives on immediately.
Chapter 7
Jannek tries to ask his grandma Hanne about the incomplete plow in the barn. In addition, Jannek and Till discover that they are both in love with Rike. So that their friendship does not suffer, they decide to let Rike decide everything else. Apart from that, they ask Till's parents about Schelk's past. His parents supposedly know nothing about why the boys decide to do their own research. So they go to the Dorfkrug (the village pub) to get information about Schelk. Knubs, who is a regular customer there, supposedly doesn't know anything either, but the bartender Sabine remembers that Schelk was in the bar a few years ago and had been drinking. But she doesn't want to reveal more.
Chapter 8
Jannek and Till go to primary school in Großkumerow to interview the caretaker. You will find old yearbooks and school newspapers. The young people take a closer look at pictures from earlier times. On a photo, the two friends can see a band in which Frank and Till's father played. Next, Jannek and Till go to the library in Sandemünde and look at older newspaper editions and articles about the suicide of Rike's mother. Till remembers that only Rike and her father were present at the funeral back then. You can also read something about the now closed LPG, a state farm until 1989, where Schelk was the right hand man of his business partner Schwericke. It is known about the company that the workers received little money for their activities. After the LPG was closed, the former manager founded an organic farm to save employees from becoming unemployed. During the research, Till and Jannek discover that an unknown affair Schelks could have triggered a murder out of jealousy. The two boys decide to ask Schwericke about the dead man.
Chapter 9
The attempt to solve the murder of Frank Schelk proves to be a tough nut to crack. Jannek and Till set out to ask Mr. Schwericke a few questions about the murder case. It turns out that Schwericke was in hospital from August to November because of a femoral neck fracture. However, Schelk's murder took place in September. The next day, JJ, Till and Rike meet at the market square to collect more information. They find out that Schelk's fiancée, a certain Nicole, has come to Ribberow to see the hotel that Schelk allegedly bequeathed to her in her will. When JJ, Till and Rike meet up with Nicole in the bar, however, Nicole claims that Schelk left her nothing but debts. Nicole also tells the protagonists that the "hotel" is actually a private club.
Chapter 10
JJ and Till do further research on the Frank Schelk murder. While the police decide to close the case, Jannek is convinced that he can solve Schelk's murder: he continues researching with his friend Till. JJ would like to ask his grandma, but doesn't dare. Rike gives Till and Jannek more information for their research. Rike's mother is said to have been connected to Schelk's brothel. When Till and Jannek visit Robert Steinmann, they learn that Rike has disappeared. Robert also tells them about an incident that happened 5 years ago: At that time, his wife came home very disturbed after her interview at Schelk's private club. The reason for this is unclear. After this experience, Rike's mother often did not return home for days. When Robert went looking for her one day, he found her dead.
Chapter 11
Jannek and Till research and obtain further information about Schelk. First they ask Sabine, the bar owner. But immediately after the first question, Sabine asks her to leave her bar, which has not yet been open. Thereupon Till and Jannek decide to continue searching separately. While Till is driving home, JJ goes to his grandparents' house, where Hanne is feeding the chickens in the yard. He asks her about Schelk, but her answers keep raising questions. Hanne becomes insecure and finally refuses to answer any more questions. Jannek therefore sprints directly to Till to tell him everything and to find out whether Till could find out anything about his father. But before Till has finished his sentence, the doorbell rings: the missing Rike is standing in front of the door. She wants to find out more about her mother's suicide from Till's father.
Chapter 12
Rike, Jannek and Till try to bring the plow from Jannek's grandfather's barn back into focus. In doing so, they follow a strict plan. The three friends place the plow on the stage set up for the village festival on the village square so that all Ribberrow residents can see it. By doing this, they hope to break the general silence and entice one or the other Ribberower to make a thoughtless statement. In fact, their plan works, because when they heave half the plow onto the stage, the conversations suddenly fall silent and the villagers are forced to comment on the murder.
Chapter 13
Jannek, Till and Rike find out that all of the villagers met in the pub on the evening of the murder. Schelk had harassed Rike's mother, Helena Steinmann, and wrapped his arms around her against her will. Helena struggled and hit him to keep him away. Various villagers rushed to help her until a whole crowd formed, who cursed Schelk. Schelk fled and was followed by the villagers. While trying to save himself on a wall, he fell backwards, directly with his head on a stone. When the villagers realized that Schelk was dead, they weighted his body in a secret joint operation with a plow and dumped it in the village pond. Since then, the events of that night have been hushed up.
Chapter 14
Jannek has to go back to Pinzlau. He is thoughtful, looks back over the last few days and thinks intensively about his time in Ribberow. He's saddened to think that Schelk might be his father. When he asks Hanne whether his guess is true, she only answers with a nod. That makes him think. On the way home on the train, Rike told him in a phone call that she had applied for an internship in Pinzlau at a wholesale flower dealer and had already received an acceptance. Both are happy to see each other in the future.
Narrative perspective
The story is told by a narrator from a personal narrative perspective. The three short sections in the first chapter, in which the corpse in the lake is described, are an exception: they clearly indicate an authorial narrator.
Protagonists and other characters
Jannek Jensen
- Grandson of Hanne (Jensen) (p. 6)
- Nickname JJ (p. 8)
- 16 years old (p. 15)
- 1.84 m tall, "dark brown, stubborn hair" and large brown eyes
- behaves in a friendly manner towards everyone and does not want to hurt anyone e.g. (p. 17)
- initially very cautious and anxious (p. 23)
- honest, empathetic, ambitious, open and fundamentally very social
- a very strong figure in history
- is developing more and more into a determined, strong and self-confident young man
- lives in Pinzlau (p. 172)
- is shot in Rike
- He and Till are old sandpit friends (p. 18)
Jannek's mother (presumably Jensen)
- Mother of Jannek and daughter of Hanne
- friendly and helpful
- single mother
Hanne Jensen
- Grandmother of Jannek
- looks mysterious, very closed
- For some readers rather unsympathetic at the beginning, more of a loner, mostly alone and very dumb
- her partner, Jannek's grandpa, passed away a few years ago
Frank Schelk
- the body that was found in the village pond
- grew up in the village and has always been very popular with women, but unpopular with men because he was very confident of himself
- as it turns out later, he is Jannek's father
Till Hempel
- JJ's "sandpit friend" know each other from school
- fraternized with Jannek
- may be secretly in love with Rike
- blonde, curly hair
- slightly taller than Jannek
- Son of Dietmar and Marianne Hempel
- is 21 years old
Dietmar Hempel
- Father of Till
- Beer belly and brown hair
- same height as his son
- seems very grim and puzzling in the course of the book, because he doesn't want to tell Jannek and Till anything about Schelk
Marianne Hempel
- Till's mother and Hempel's wife
- very helpful and friendly
Rike Steinmann
- 15 years old
- Daughter of Robert and Helena Steinmann
- has curly, light brown hair, a small nose, but a slightly angular face, dimples and a high forehead
- a bit closed and seems mysterious to the two boys
- loves to ride a bike
- gardens
- is a vegetarian
Robert Steinmann
- Rike's father
- single parent
- has a long, brown beard, gray-brown hair, prominent cheekbones, strong eyebrows
- overall rather a neglected exterior
- is referred to in the village as "Waldeinstein"
- has been making sculptures out of scrap since the death of his wife
Helena Steinmann
- Rike's mother
- hanged himself in the forest 5 years ago without leaving a suicide note
- very unhappy, why is long unclear
Information about the author
The author Franziska Gehm was born in Sondershausen in 1974 . After studying in Germany, England and Ireland, she worked for a Viennese radio station, at a grammar school in Denmark and at a children's book publisher. Today (2018) she lives as an author and translator with her family in Munich. She has now published numerous books for children and young people, which have been translated into many languages.
Awards
The tote in the village pond was nominated in 2009 for the Hansjörg Martin Prize , a prize for the best children's or young adult thriller of the year. It is determined by a jury, authors, children and young people.
Interpretations, reviews and projects
- »Masterfully told!« Shortlist for the Hansjörg Martin Prize
- »An exciting thriller with a surprising ending. Be sure to read - preferably on an evening with wind, thunderstorms and a dripping tap. « Bulletin Jugend & Literatur
- »The author Franziska Gehm tells authentically and excitingly without appearing too difficult. A great book for cozy reading hours under the warm duvet. "
- GEOlino
- Book meeting
- City of Greven: school project
- faz review
literature
expenditure
- Franziska Gehm: The dead man in the village pond . Beltz, Weinheim and Basel 2010. ISBN 978-3-407-74160-8 .
- Franziska Gehm: The dead man in the village pond. In simple language . Beltz, Weinheim and Basel 2019. ISBN 978-3-407-74690-0 .
Secondary literature
- "The dead man in the village pond" in class. Teacher's guide to the youth novel by Franziska Gehm , developed by Arnhild Nachreiner. Beltz, Weinheim and Basel 2010. ISBN 978-3-407-62701-8 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ beltz: Bildermaus - learning to read with stickers - stories about the little elf. Retrieved April 30, 2018 .
- ↑ Frankfurter Allgemeine: Fiction Review. Retrieved May 8, 2018 .
- ↑ Boerse Sheet: The nominees for Hansjörg Martin Prize have been announced. Retrieved May 8, 2018 .
- ↑ Books: "Der Tote im Dorfteich" by Franziska Gehm . In: geo . ( geo.de [accessed on May 8, 2018]).
- ^ Franziska Gehm - The dead man in the village pond - BücherTreff.de . In: BücherTreff.de . ( buechertreff.de [accessed on May 8, 2018]).
- ^ City of Greven: School project. Retrieved May 8, 2018 .
- ^ Frankfurter Allgemeine - Fiction: The dead in the village pond. Retrieved May 8, 2018 .