The sufferings of the west

The Sorrows of the West is Peter Klein's first novel and was published in Germany in 2013.

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Buddha comes from 11 to 15 March, 1938 to Vienna and experience the day of the annexation of Austria to the Nazi German empire with. He met a number of historical figures, including Falco and Thomas Bernhard , who sought consolation on Sigmund Freud's couch , and he had breakfast with Adolf Hitler in the Hofburg on Heldenplatz . He is looked after by Gustl Karl, a policeman who is faced with the dilemma of either joining the Nazis - against his feelings - or quitting his service - but then risks ending up in a concentration camp . Buddha, who found enlightenment and redemption from the sufferings of life in the East 2,600 years ago, is now confronted with the problems and sufferings of the West.

Special features of the plot

The book is a faction: the historical framework from March 11th to 15th, 1938 consists of researched facts, the visit of Buddha and the meeting of historical figures is a fiction. The main plot takes place in the days of the Anschluss, but is interwoven with flashbacks . The book is a journey through the collective psyche of German-Austrian history and illuminates the suffering from the days of the Anschluss. It deals with the question of how an enlightened person could have acted in the situation at that time. The content of the book is structured like a play and lives from the dialogues of the characters.

Special features of figures and characters

In the novel, a number of historical personalities appear and come into contact with one another: Buddha , Thomas Bernhard , Falco , Sigmund Freud , Adolf Hitler . In reality, a meeting of these personalities did not take place, or could not take place because the people sometimes lived at different times. The protagonist Gustl Karl is a fictional character based on the protagonists Leutnant Gustl from the novel of the same name by Arthur Schnitzler and Mr. Karl from the play Der Herr Karl by Helmut Qualtinger .

Special features of the creation of the novel

Peter Klein was inspired by the therapeutic and systemic constellation work with his clients to come to terms with the events of 1938.

Originally, for his textbook "Buddha, Freud, Falco", a number of scenic constellations with historical personalities were carried out according to the following model:

1. Selection of historical personalities who have lived at different times and whose meeting promises an interesting, interdisciplinary exchange.
2. Carrying out covert constellations, in which the deputies do not know who they are representing, in order to determine whether unconsciously similarities with the historical personalities to be represented come to light.
3. Draft of various scenes in which the representatives of the historical personalities are to exchange ideas on certain topics.
4. Carrying out the various constellations, both with representatives who have prepared for their role by researching the respective historical personality, and with representatives who - unprepared - rely on their feelings and perceptions.
5. Analysis, reflection and publication of the method, which shows that it is possible to make individual personality traits (e.g. of historical people), relationship structures and cultural backgrounds visible via scenic constellations - even without a therapeutic question.

Peter Klein developed some of the scenes from the constellation experiments further. He related it to the experiences from his therapeutic work with clients, which are still often about the war generation and their experiences, and how they often show unconscious effects in the life of the descendants.

Reviews

Bernd Zachow from the Nürnberger Nachrichten thinks that "[e] in such a free way of dealing with the biographies of famous people [...] in Peter Klein's work is by no means artificial or even absurd" .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Bernd Zachow: Surreal encounters. Peter Klein mixes facts and fiction in his book. In: Nürnberger Nachrichten , August 21, 2013
2. ↑ Interview with Peter Klein on the Internet radio “Planet Sol” ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Website of the Internet radio "Planet Sol". Retrieved October 9, 2013 
3. ↑ Interview with Peter Klein on the Internet radio “Planet Sol” ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Website of the Internet radio "Planet Sol". Retrieved October 9, 2013  
4. ↑ Book information on the website of Edition Va Bene . Retrieved October 9, 2013
5. ↑ Interview with Peter Klein on the Internet radio “Planet Sol” ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Website of the Internet radio "Planet Sol". Retrieved October 9, 2013 
6. ↑ Interview with Peter Klein at tv21.at ( memento of the original from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Floridsdorfer WebTV website. Retrieved October 9, 2013  
7. ↑ Interview with Peter Klein on the Internet radio “Planet Sol” ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Website of the Internet radio "Planet Sol". Retrieved October 9, 2013 
8. ↑ Excerpts from a reading by Peter Klein at the Sigmund Freud University of Vienna on September 23, 2013 ( memento of the original from October 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Floridsdorfer WebTV website. Retrieved October 9, 2013  
9. ↑ Klein, Linder-Hofmann, Bernhardt: I was Falco . In: K&S 5/2009. (available online (PDF; 6.9 MB) accessed on October 9, 2013)
10. ↑ Excerpts from a reading by Peter Klein at the Sigmund Freud University of Vienna on September 23, 2013 ( memento of the original from October 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Floridsdorfer WebTV website. Retrieved October 9, 2013  
11. ^ Bernd Zachow: Surreal encounters. Peter Klein mixes facts and fiction in his book. In: Nürnberger Nachrichten , August 21, 2013