Frank (Karl Neumann)
Frank is a youth novel by the writer Karl Neumann and is one of the most widely read youth books in the GDR . It represents Neumann's first work and forms the prelude to the Frank novel trilogy, which was followed by the novels Frank and Irene (1964) and Frank remains a captain (1982). It was first published in 1958 by Kinderbuchverlag Berlin and had 17 editions by 1980. A paperback edition followed in 1978 and 1981, and in the 1980s there were two further editions, each with two editions. In 2004 the children's book publisher Leipzig reissued the novel. The novel has also been translated into Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian and Latvian and was published in Moscow (1960), Kiev (1960), Prague (1961), Bratislava (1962), Budapest (1962) and Riga (1966). In 1961 Frank was performed as a play at the Young Guard Theater in Halle (Saale).
The novel is divided into 28 named chapters. It is told in a third person, from an authorial narrative perspective. The proportion of verbatim speech is rather small compared to the two subsequent Frank novels. It has a length of 210 pages.
The novel was illustrated by Bernhard Nast . It is recommended for readers aged 12 and over. According to the author, the place and person names are fictitious, but there is a lot to suggest that he chose his hometown Eilenburg for the plot of the novel . The location of both cities on the Mulde and the similar place names speak for this . The descriptions of places also often apply to Eilenburg.
content
After the death of his mother, Frank Brinkmann and his two younger siblings came to see his aunt in the town of Eulenberg, as his father works on a large construction site that is far away. There he obviously had problems integrating into the class community, as he was initially shunned by the others and called Speckfrank because of his worn clothes . His only friend is a boy named Pepo. One day Frank discovers a tree that is on the banks of the Mulde just before it falls into the water. With Rolf Helfring - called Roller -, who happened to be passing by, a classmate of Frank, he threw the tree into the water. They use the trunk as a raft and drive towards a weir in Eulenberg. You can save yourself, but you cannot prevent the tree from bumping into the weir. This incident represents the first approach between the two.
Frank can fight for a reputation in his class through a test of courage. He manages to cross the weir on the weir beam in record time. Roller, who held the record before, refused to accept this and tried to beat this time. When he went to the weir bar, the guard Edmund Krambusch (“Sniff”) and his friend (“Stoppelkalle”), who were unpopular with the children, appeared and cut off his path. Roller then falls down the weir. Although he manages to hold on to a beam in the water, he cannot reach the bank on his own. Frank sees two canoeists on the bank, he takes the initiative and leaves with one of the canoeists to save Scooters, which they manage. Roller then organizes that the canoeists can spend the night in the yard of his parents' house. They tell about their canoe and arouse the interest of the young people. They then decide to build a canoe themselves. They begin to collect money and raw materials and get opinions from adults who usually don't take them very seriously. The canoe builders later found a supporter in their young class teacher, Miss Trapp.
The construction of the canoe, which the narrator describes in great detail and in great detail, depends largely on Frank and Roller, who keep pushing it forward. When Aunt Frank takes money that the group intended for the canoe construction, Frank and Pepo flee from home. They want to visit Frank's father Simon Brinkmann on the large construction site. Once there, Frank tells the conditions under which he lives with his aunt. The father, who does not earn badly, asserts that he sends enough money every month. Frank can persuade him to come to Eulenberg. He realizes that his aunt has enriched herself at his expense and let his children go to waste. He throws the aunt out of the house. With Frank, the teacher and the mother of their classmate Irene, they find a way that Frank can stay alone with the children in Eulenberg, the women take over the sponsorship of Frank's smaller siblings.
From then on the boat building continues. With the support of the previously unpopular Edmund Krambusch, who is a trained boat builder, they finish their canoe. After the final exams after the eighth grade, which all students in the class pass except for Purzel - a somewhat squat girl. They want to reach the upcoming pioneer camp with their canoe. Purzel, who is the only one who cannot swim and therefore cannot ride in the canoe, decides to accompany the canoeists on foot on the bank. After several breaks together, nobody has anything against them coming along. However, carelessness causes the boat to capsize. Purzel fights back violently, but Frank manages to pull her out of the water. They all reach the saving shore. This is where the content of the novel Frank and Irene , published six years later, begins .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Karin Richter: Karl Neumann 'Frank und Irene' (1964) on litde.com - topic portal literature (accessed on August 20, 2010)
- ^ Karl Neumann: Frank , page 590f., Kinderbuchverlag Berlin , 2nd edition of this edition 1989, ISBN 3-358-00342-6