Go went Gone

A novel by Jenny Erpenbeck , who was shortlisted for the German Book Prize in 2015 and, in English translation, on the long list for the Man Booker International Prize (GB) in 2018 , went, went, gone .

content

Richard, who recently retired as professor of classical languages, lives alone. His wife died five years ago and his younger lover left him. He can live well on his pension and lives in a house near Berlin that he bought after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the summer, someone drowned in the lake that borders the property.

Ten male refugees from African countries are going on a hunger strike on Alexanderplatz . They refuse to give their names. Richard becomes aware of the problem through a report on the evening news and begins to find out more about the situation of the protesters. He realizes that they, like him, suffer from the ban on work. As a result of inactivity, they too are forced to deal exclusively with themselves and their memories, which are often very painful. He decides to do some research about it and starts talking to them. He first meets them on Oranienplatz , where they had set up a protest camp over two years to draw attention to the shortcomings of European asylum policy. As part of an "agreement" with the Berlin Senate, they were soon accommodated in various accommodations (called "home" in the novel), only to be returned to Italy, their country of first reception, a few months later, after "examining the individual cases". Before they came to Germany, however, they had tried in vain to find work there.

Richard accompanies the refugees with his research through all these different phases for about a year. In his notes, he initially referred to some of the men by names from Greek and German mythology ("Apoll", "Tristan"), who sounded more familiar to him than their African names because of his job, and he later named the others by their real first names (" Ali "," Karon "," Osarobo "," Rashid "," Rufu "). In the course of the conversations he has with the African men, Richard becomes involved in their everyday lives, accompanies them to appointments with lawyers and to language courses, translates official letters for them, procures them small part-time jobs, and gives them German lessons themselves. He teaches one of them the basics of playing the piano, and invites another to his house for Christmas.

While he learns more and more about the life of African men, he informs himself at the same time through reading and internet research about geographical and political backgrounds and the causes of flight in their West African countries of origin.

After all, he becomes politically active himself, as he reports for a demonstration for the first time in his life, experiences evictions and conflicts between the refugees and authorities and the Berlin police. In order to enable the family of a Ghanaian to survive in Ghana, he buys a piece of land in Ghana for 3000 euros. A break-in into his home becomes an occasion for him and his friends to make fundamental considerations about their own prejudices, trust, and private property.

After most of the Oranienplatz activists with whom Richard is in contact were put on the street, he and his friends take some of the refugees into their civic environment or at least give them a place to sleep in offices and shops.

At the end of the book, when Richard invites the Africans to his birthday party in the garden, the loneliness they all share comes up for the first time. While the young men remember the time in their lives when they were still involved in everyday family life and loving relationships, the widowed Richard openly talks about the mistakes he made during his marriage. "At that time (...) it became clear to me that what I can endure is only the surface of everything that I cannot endure." The refugee men understand him - because that's how it was for them on the crossing from Libya to Europe: They saved themselves on light boats, but the fear of the deep, unfathomable sea stayed with them all the time.

Overview and content of the chapters

Chapter overview: Go, go, go

Chapter (page number)	Time & place	main characters	action
1 (8)	August Richard's home	Richard, retired professor & author	Richard has just retired and doesn't know what to do with his free time. He is concerned with a man who drowned in the lake in front of his house in June and has not yet been found.
2 (15)	Thursday, late August Red City Hall in front of Alexanderplatz in Berlin	Richard	Dark-skinned men go on hunger strike, but they do not say who they are and remain silent about their reasons.
3 (21)	Richard's home	Richard Richard's wife	Flashback: Richard and his wife grew up during the war. His wife was nearly killed by a low-flying aircraft at the age of three . He almost lost his parents. The strikers hold up a cardboard sign: “We become visible”.
4 (25)	Richard's home	Richard	Richard hears on the news that the refugees' hunger strike from Alexanderplatz has ended and the refugees have been removed.
5 (28)	Richard's home	Richard	Richard reads articles about drowned boat refugees, plane crashes and a school in Kreuzberg that is occupied by African Americans.
6 (30)	Auditorium of a school in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg	Richard	Richard attends a meeting of the Senate to discuss the situation in the auditorium of the occupied school in Kreuzberg. There is an explosion and a refugee's laptop is stolen during the subsequent darkness.
7 (34)	Autumn, in the evening, the protagonist's garden and house	Richard	Richard comes home late at night thinks of the drowned man hasn't known her way around Berlin since the fall of the wall. He watches television, tidies his desk, thinks about the meeting about the situation of the refugees.
8 (37)	In the morning, in the evening, the protagonist's house and bed, Oranienplatz	Richard	Richard is having breakfast thinks of his dead wife (her activities in Kreuzberg), Sits on a park bench on Oranienplatz and observes refugees, reporters and volunteer women, lies in bed and thinks about the refugees.
9 (44)	Protagonist's house	Richard	Describes his daily routine for the next two weeks, informs himself about the refugee situation, creates a questionnaire for the refugees (e.g. "Where did you grow up?"; "Where should you be buried?")
10 (45)	Protagonist's house, Oranienplatz	Richard	Finds out about the land grabbing on the southwest coast of Africa by the trader Lüderitz, goes to Oranienplatz to ask the refugees his questions, sees the refugees' tents being dismantled. Policeman describes the new whereabouts of the refugees.
11 (47)	Protagonist's house, retirement home	Richard, receptionist, manager of the retirement home	Unpacking the books from the institute. Goes to the old people's home on Tuesday morning, where the refugees have been housed. Make an appointment with the receptionist. Conversation with the manager of the house: Explains that the retirement home is only intended for a short stay (not geared for so many people) Richard doesn't understand what the leader is saying (Asylum Ordinance, Residence Permit, Dublin II)
12 (50)	Old people's home	Richard, head of the old people's home, Raschid, Zair, Abdusalam, Ithemba	Tour through the nursing home: Old and run down No water connection Entering a room of the refugees Conversation with the refugees: Origin, language, belief Escape route (with boats, 550 out of 800 drowned) They want work in the future Richard promises to come back Remembers the room number
13 (55)	Retirement home, room 2019	Richard, shy refugee, Awad	Richard asks the refugee about his life. The refugee doesn't know if he still has parents. The refugee always moves from place to place and always has his few belongings with him. At that time the refugee lived in the desert.
14 (63)	Retirement home, room 2020	Richard, Awad	Awad and Richard talk about the Awads story. He no longer has a mother and grew up in Ghana. His father was very caring but was shot dead. Awad has a scar on his head because someone hit him with a gun in the war He was afraid of the European bombs and told about the escape on the boat. He wanted to go to Germany and was well received at Oranienplatz.
15 (72)	Richard at home with his friends Detlef and Sylvia	Richard, elderly lady, friend Detlef and Sylvia, Richard's ex-wife Marion	Richard ponders the stories of the "war victims". Richard learns from the older lady that Awad cries for hours and therefore needs a psychologist. He does not understand why the war victims are not allowed to work and have only limited asylum rights On Detlef and Sylvia's birthday, Richard meets his ex-wife Marion
16 (79)	Monday, in the old people's home (which also houses refugees)	Richard, the German teacher,	Richard attends the German class taught by a young woman from Ethiopia. The course of the lesson is explained. After class, Richard talks to the teacher, who tells him about the suffering of the refugees. Richard, however, is much more focused on the beautiful appearance of women and that he is talking to a woman for the first time in a long time. The Ethiopian actually studied agriculture, but decided to help the refugees before they take the "wrong path". When the teacher leaves the hall, Richard names her after the Greek and Roman figure Astraea, which stands for the virgin Astraea, who is leaving the earth in the last "iron" age. It is only when Richard is alone that he realizes how bad the room is.
17 (84)	Tuesday, first at home, then in the old people's home	Richard, Ithemba, Rashid	Richard decides to visit Rasheed and Ithemba. After looking in vain for Rasheed, he goes to the third floor, where four figures are sitting at a round table. He suspects that the office of the supervisor appointed by the Senate is there. Richard leaves the floor and asks a security man what the unrest in the house is about. Finally he learns that the men should move tomorrow. The new home is located in the middle of the forest and about seven and a half kilometers from Buckow. Richard is outraged by the Senate's decision who are responsible for moving the refugees. At 2 p.m. Richard visits the classroom, where a discussion about the move is started. The Senate man assures the refugees that the new home near Buckow is a good solution for everyone. The men reply that the new home is far too far away and that they are being kept "hidden" from the outside world. At the end of the meeting it becomes clear what the men are really about: They want to live independently, independently and freely. Basically, they want a quiet and peaceful life. You want to work and not have an uncertain future. Moving to a new home is prevented when the director of the home announces that two of the refugees have had chickenpox. Everyone seems very insecure and unrest occurs. Richard wanders again and again into his past.
18 (91)	In the old people's home, in a little room, right next to the entrance, Finally at Richard's home	Richard, Rasheed	Richard and Raschid talk about Eid Mubarak, a festival that celebrates the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan . Rasheed raves about it and tells Richard the basic rules of Islam. Raschid ignores Richard's question why he doesn't want to go back to Nigeria forever. Instead, Raschid tells about his family situation and his past. He then raved about the festival “Eid Mubarak” and said that all women always cooked together. Rasheed then tells how it came to an assault in which strangers hit her with clubs and Rasheed was separated from his father. He never saw him again. Rasheed and the rest of his family fled and warned their wives and children. Rashid's house was later burned down. Rasheed goes on to talk about the traumatic event. After the conversation, Richard buys flowers and wanders through his house as if he were a stranger there. In the evening Richard makes notes at his desk and then goes to bed.
19 (100)	At home with Richard's friend Detlef and his wife Sylvia	Richard, Sylvia, Detlef	They talk about their parents' war experiences at the time, how hard they worked and that the refugees are not allowed to work in Germany, but have to go back to Italy, where there is no work.
20 (104)	Retirement home and café	Richard, Osarobo African refugee from Niger	Richard asks the young, intimidated refugee about his history, such as home, friends and family, as well as things about him personally, such as his age and his wishes. Osarobo is very intimidated and doesn't talk much.
21 (110)	At Richard's house on Sunday	Richard, his friend Peter	Richard is studying the "unification paper" that the Senate agreed with the Africans in order to free up Oranienplatz for Berliners.
22 (112)	Monday, school; Tuesday	Richard, teacher, Ali, Zair, Raschid	Language teaching; Richard talks to a young German teacher and helps her; German teacher is banned from the house because she causes too much unrest in the house.
23 (116)	At home in the evening	Richard, thin man	Richard thinks of conversation with a thin man and hears his voice without seeing him; Man talks about his life and sweeps the house meanwhile.
24 (124)	Wednesday 11 a.m., in the nursing home (with the refugees); Football field; At Richard's home	Richard, Osarobo	Richard had arranged to meet Osarobo to play the piano, Osarobo forgot; Richard thinks of his lover; Richard and Osarobo play soccer, they go to Richard's house, Osarobo plays the piano, they both eat pizza.
25 (132)	School, present tense	Richard, Yussuf et al. Ali	Richard opens a conversation course with the two advanced language students Yussuf and Ali. He learns where the two come from and what professions they worked in their home country and in different countries while they were fleeing. Yussuf had no education or was unable to attend school in his home country of Libya due to lack of money. He is now in Germany, speaks Arabic, French, English, Italian and soon also German. Ali went to an Arabic school where you learn the Koran by heart. His father had told him that when he finished the Arabic school he could go to the French one. The other students repeat the past perfect in time. Ali would like to be a nurse one day, Yussuf an engineer. Now Richard thinks about the fact that there are actually enough vacancies in Germany, but hardly anyone would hire one of these refugees.
26 (138)	Supermarket / Richard's apartment, present tense	Richard, Rufu	Richard queues in the shortest line in the supermarket and then notices that Rufu, a student at the language school, is standing behind him. When Richard tries to pay, he can't find his wallet and Rufu pays for his purchase. As a thank you, Richard invites Rufu to dinner at his home. Arriving home, Richard finds his wallet on the floor in the hallway and wants to pay Rufu back two ten-euro bills. He only takes one and rejects the second. While Richard is preparing the meal, he offers Rufu a book in Italian, which Rufu then reads. After dinner, Richard offers Rufu the banknote again, but Rufu refuses it again. Before Rufu leaves, Richard gives him his phone number so that he can get in touch if he wants to continue reading the Italian book.
27 (140)	Refugee accommodation, present tense	Awad	After Awad had been lying awake at half past four in the morning, there was a knock on his room door at half past ten. The polite old man stands in front of the door and has a few more questions for Awad. Meanwhile, Awad thinks about his father and the war. He was supposed to be moving to Spandau that day, and the elderly gentleman wanted to know what he had actually wanted to take with him. Awad says he just wanted to take a bag with clothes, toiletries, and a Bible in English. Awad remembers that the elderly gentleman was and is still alive the day Awad's father was slain or shot. Then there is a knock on the door, and a guardian offers Awad to test his blood for antibodies to chickenpox. Awad doesn't want to go there and wonder what his father would have advised him. He changed his mind because his father told him what to do. When he sees in the treatment room that a carer wants to draw blood from another patient, he asks why there is no doctor. The supervisor then said that she used to be a doctor. Awad becomes suspicious because this supervisor usually only filled out forms. He wonders what their job will be tomorrow and what kind of game the Germans will play with him. He panics briefly and flees back to his room.
28 (146)	Time unknown / refugee accommodation	Richard et al. not further defined supervisors d. refugees	Richard talks to refugee workers about the current situation of the refugees; Main topic: life finance Unclear whether they are allowed to apply for asylum; do not receive any benefits under the Asylum Seekers Act; lived on donations before the protest Richard asks Apollo if he can help him with the gardening; Richard also supports other refugees, e.g. B. teaches them to play the piano or reads with them. Richard feels old; has the feeling of having to say goodbye to all wishes (e.g. for a woman)
29 (149)	November day; a few weeks after his retirement / presumably Richard's house; then the neighborhood	Richard (and his friends Thomas, Sylvia, Detlef)	Richard reads; Subjects: Greek stories Countries like Libya and Tunisia were areas before the end of the world in ancient times Tuareg Situation in Libya Libya is a battlefield Walk and accompanying conversation with his friends; Subjects: Comparison of figures from Greek history with the refugees (Apollo, the refugee = as Tuareg), Comparison of the luxury country Germany and "broken" Libya.
30 (157)	Unknown time / Richard's house	Richard, Apollo	Richard and Apollo take care of the boat; Apollo also helps with other work; is paid for it. Conversation of the two; Subjects: Determination d. Date of birth by Italian Everyday life in the home of Apollo: Build deep wells for water Trade in camels from 10 years Participation in caravans on camels (finding the way through stories, stars ...); Richard realizes the connection between space, time and poetry
31 (161)	The way to the retirement home In the old people's home The trip to the adult education center In the adult education center The return trip from the adult education center	Richard Rufu Rasheed Abdusalam	Richard makes his way to the old people's home to conduct language lessons with the African men. When he arrived there, he was told that there would no longer be language lessons in the future because the men were to be taught at a community college. The African men leave with three supervisors, but Rufu is absent. Richard goes in search of Rufu and drives him to school in his car. They talk about the time when the wall was still standing and that Richard doesn't know his way around the west. You get to school on time, and Richard supports the teacher. On the way back, Richard, Rufu, Raschid and Abdusalam drive together to the old people's home, and at a red light they are stunned by a young family.
32 (170)	Morning At Richard's home	Richard Osarobo	The day before, Richard cleaned his house, vacuumed, cleaned the bathroom and kitchen Richard picks up Osarobo from an intersection Osarobo no longer knows the way to Richard's house. Richard picks him up. They play the piano together at Richard's house. They eat pumpkin soup with bread together. Richard shows Osarobo three pianists. Osarobo is on his way home
33 (172)	home Walk around the lake Walk in his neighborhood	Richard Sylvia Detlef	Richard goes to the home. The men are packing for the move to Spandau. Richard walks around the lake and in its neighborhood. In the evening he speaks to Sylvia on the phone. She tries to convince Richard that the men will be better there. Detlef says that the way through the new city motorway is not that far. Richard can visit the men at any time.
34 (174)	Room in the asylum seekers home in Spandau graveyard	Rasheed Richard Zair Khalil	Richard and Zair are in the room, they are happy that there are children and family here in the home, because they have not seen anyone for so long Zair asks Richard if he has children, but he doesn't have any. Zair assumes that someone who has no children has suffered a great misfortune. But Richard and his wife had decided so. Khalil asks Richard why the club was closed on Dead Sunday. Richard replies that on the Sunday of the Dead people mourn the dead in silence Khalil doesn't know if his parents are still alive. Richard says it is a coincidence who drowns in the sea between Africa and Europe and who does not Each of the African refugees is alive and dead at the same time. Richard still tends his parents 'grave with the same rake as he did with his mother at the grandparents' grave. He feels ashamed because for a long time he hoped that the people from Africa would mourn less for their dead because the deaths are so massive. He himself has the luxury of owning a three-generation grave
35 (179)	Pre-christmas time Asylum seekers home	Richard Rasheed Apollo Tristan Zani	Raschid accompanies Richard out after every visit. You meet a MP in the hallway. Rasheed tells her that Richard is a supporter. She tells Richard that she is concerned that decisions about individual cases are tough Richard tells Apollo that he should say in his interview that he belongs to a persecuted minority in his homeland. Apollo replies that he will tell how it was because if he had to go, he could go. He is free, has no family to support, and has lived on the streets in Italy for six months. Richard feels the word "freedom" in Germany in a different context. Richard calls his lawyer Dr. Lutz to ask how things are going with his case. The lawyer says Ghana is a safe country, Libya, where Tristan grew up, does not matter. The procedural error of the authority gave him a respite, after that it would be difficult Zani shows Richard a newspaper article from his hometown in which the word "Massacre" appears three times because he needs proof for his interview Richard knows throughout Advent that the Dublin II Agreement only regulates jurisdiction, but he says nothing.
36 (181)	Courtyard of the asylum seekers home	Richard Tristan Rasheed employee Yaya	One day the news broke that no refugees could be taken into deportation detention in Germany. Everyone is beside themselves. Raschid is of the opinion that detention no longer exists, but that the practice of deportation remains in principle. E says they really wouldn't want us here. When the temperature drops to zero, Tristan is very happy to have a place to sleep in a house. Last winter, some of the tents collapsed under the snow In the middle of an interview with Richard, a siren sounds that doesn't stop. The men remember the war: Richard remembers once sitting in a bomb cellar with his mother. Tristan says he was sitting in the barracks with others when the bombs fell on Tripoli. The alarm was just an exercise, as someone in the kitchen is always leaving the stove on. But Yaya cut the wire to the alarm system. The employee of the home who wants to ban Yaya from the house and he yells at each other outside in the yard. Richard is happy that Yaya cut the wire, but he's not allowed to say that
37 (184)	in the week before the third Advent in the asylum seekers home in Spandau	Richard and some asylum seekers	many visits to the asylum seekers home Telephone conversation with Anne (via Ali). Richard wants to give Osarobo a card for the Christmas Oratorio. He is in Italy to renew his papers.
38 (185)	In the week before the fourth Advent in the asylum seekers home in Spandau	Richard, Apollo, Tristan, Raschid	Richard talks to Apollo about his habit of eating and drinking very little, as he is of the opinion that he will never know if you will have to go hungry again. Richard notes that the men all have to live very frugally and minimalistically (many only have a cell phone), speaks to Rashid and Tristan about contacting friends and family over the phone. Raschid separated from his friend when he arrived in Europe so that both could go their own way and, if successful, help each other later.
39 (190)	in the asylum seekers home	Richard	Richard is concerned about the refugees' financial plight. You can only afford a mobile phone contract with the little money you have. The law does not regard existing friendships as a reason for moving to another state and separates friendships.
40 (195)	December 23rd - 24th in the supermarket and at Richard's home	Richard & some of his friends	Planning who will spend Christmas with whom Preparations for Christmas Eve (Richard) many memories of his late wife
41 (199)	December 24th at Richard's home in the afternoon	Richard & Raschid	Richard talks about his Christian Christmas traditions Raschid tells of his everyday life in his home country at the time Raschid reports of an agonizing flight to Europe: lost his children in the process The wife stayed behind and remarried
42 (206)	between Christmas and New Year's Eve at Richard's home & at Monika & Jörg's	Richard & many friends	Richard's friends talk about their Christmas party. Monika & Jörg: see African women on the roadside (prostitution). Peter: Doesn't go down well with the parents of his 20-year-old girlfriend. Osarobo: exploited in Italy when applying for his residence permit (Richard gives him money).
43 (212)	New Year's Eve, entrance to the house (Spandau), police station Mitte	Richard, Karon Anubo,	Raschid, Apollo & Ithemba 01.01.B-Day Karon has received a police subpoena for identification Richard drives him through half of Berlin Responsible employees at the office not present. You can go home again, Richard is upset. Thinking about buying Karon's family a piece of land for 3,000 euros. Richard is disappointed with Karon's reaction. Karon is afraid to hope.
44 (218)	New Year's Eve, Spandau refugee home	Richard and friends, refugees, police, MPs for the refugee home	Richard wonders what's so special about New Year's Eve. On 8.1. a list appears with names that come from Berlin to other places 12 people have to leave Spandau, u. a. Abdusalam, Zair, Osarobo. Forty heavily armed policemen block Richard's way to Raschid. Richard notes that all people are actually the same. Refugees are treated like criminals "... the list is satisfied ..."
45 (226)	Demonstration from Oranienplatz to the American Embassy, Friday afternoon	Richard, Raschid, police, bald man	What is a demonstration? Bald man withdraws the application. Richard is the new applicant. Much time passes before the demonstration can begin. The Africans are getting restless. It starts two and a half hours after the actual appointment. Richard accompanies the train to Moritzplatz and then takes the subway home.
46 (230)	Friedrichshain	Richard, Rasheed	A group of refugees threatens to jump off the roof of a house in Friedrichshain. Raschid tells Richard that he wanted to speak to the Interior Senator, but that he has no time. Richard later read a newspaper article from a well-known German newspaper that reported negatively about this refugee protest. He does not like the article and the readers' favorable comments.
47 (234)	The steam room	Richard, Karon, Karon's mother, the black woman in the steam room	Richard thinks of the victims of the Third Reich and how they and their never-born descendants run around like ghosts in the streets and cafes of Berlin. Later, Karon tells how to buy a piece of land in Ghana, whereupon Richard thinks about how he bought his leased land after the fall of the Berlin Wall, which was much more bureaucratic than in Ghana. Richard wants to buy a piece of land for Karon's family in Ghana for € 3000.00. He and Karon go into a house. In a room full of smoke or steam sits a black woman in the middle, other men fan her air. Richard gives her the money, she throws it into the slot where the smoke comes from. Another man gives Karon two numbers that he wrote on chewing gum paper. Later, Karon's mother receives the money and she buys the property. Karon's mother and he thank Richard very much.
48 (241)		Richard, Tristan, Zair, Rufu, Jörg, dentist	Richard has a conversation with Rufu. This looks very weak and sick. Richard asks about the drug Rufu is taking and forbids him to take it. He informs himself about it on the Internet and reads the numerous side effects. He then talks to the psychiatrist Jörg about the drug, who makes fun of Rufu. Rufu is examined by the psychiatrist. He finds out that the pain is coming from a hole in the tooth and that the pain is spreading in such a way that the real problem is difficult to pinpoint. In Richard's practice, the dentist fills Rufu's hole and doesn't want any reward for it.
49 (248)	Frozen lake	Osarobo, Richard,	Osarobo missed Richard's call. Then calls back and asks for "work". Richard receives an invitation to a colloquium in Frankfurt am Main. He is also considering canceling this meeting. He is seized by Osarobo's fear of the future, who doesn't seem to care about his uncertain future.
50 (253)	Richard's home, refugee home	Richard, Ithemba, Khalil, Apollo	Richard reminisces at home about his work and Seneca, about whom he has written two books. Richard wonders why politics treat refugees this way. At the refugee home, he talks to Ithemba about his escape through the desert. He asks Apollo how to bury his dead in the desert while fleeing. Khalil tells of his fear of the water on the crossing. The next morning Richard wants to prepare for his lecture and learns that the agreement between the Senate and the refugees has been annulled. The refugees then demonstrate again on Oranienplatz and are forcibly removed by the police.
51 (256)	law firm	Ithemba, Richard, lawyer	Ithemba and Richard are with Ithemba’s attorney. There they try with the lawyer to get an extended tolerance and a work permit for Ithemba and the others.
52 (265)	Richard's home, Frankfurt	Richard, Osarobo,	Richard makes the final preparations before he leaves for Frankfurt for his speech and drinks tea with Osarobo. Richard gives his speech in Frankfurt, which, however, does not meet with great response When Richard returns home, he finds his house devastated and his house has been broken into. He visits Detlef and Sylvia and talks to them about the break-in. He telephones Anne, who gives him advice on how to behave, as Richard suspects Osarobo to have committed the break-in. Osarobo transfers Richard to several meetings, which makes Richard even more suspicious.
53 (276)	Richard is sitting at the living room table with Karon	-Caron -Richard	Conversation by Richard and Karon: Karon describes a miracle that is said to have happened during the escape. A man fell into the water during the boat trip. Two dolphins are said to have brought him back, and this very man was able to repair the boat later. Richard remembers that Karon's friend sent him a picture of his family: mother, two brothers, sister. His brothers look very poor. In the picture, Karon's family is standing under a canopy of their house, which is in poor condition: his father couldn't finish it before he died.
54 (278)	Early February Visit to Tristan in the homeless shelter Richard's apartment	- Richard -Tristan -Thomas - Other refugees Richard took in	Men who have never applied for asylum meet and many are deported. One of them cuts his wrists (= Tristan) and the other showered himself with gasoline and wanted to burn himself. The concerns of some Berlin residents are listed: There are too many Nazis in the neighborhood, there are too many refugees, you don't have enough yourself ... Tristan is allowed to live in the homeless shelter for another six months: In general, the accommodations for refugees are in poor condition. Richard therefore clears his apartment in order to take in several of the men. Some of his friends are following his example. You can provide 147 beds. The men have to earn money to support the people they are allowed to live with. Problematic because the men are no longer allowed to stay in Germany. Thomas creates a donation account, but the money laundering law is a problem. However, the men are still allowed to attend German classes. However, you may miss some hours and then have to start over. One of the refugees who live with Richard cooks for everyone else. Richard has now adopted her eating habits.
55 (289)	Richard's apartment	All friends All the men who were admitted	Richard wants to celebrate his birthday for the first time since the death of his wife. He invites all of his friends. The men he has taken in help him prepare Richard learned to buy meat that is "halal", i.e. H. corresponds to the Islamic purity law. In the evening they take a group photo. Richard notices that Sylvia is not standing next to Detlef. Richard later asks him about it and learns that his wife is in the hospital. Everyone thinks together of women they loved. The refugees tell of the difficulties they had in getting to know a woman outside their country: Ithemba says based on his experience: "Nobody loves a refugee" Apollo says that he would never marry a woman to get papers, even if he loves her. Tristan then states that any woman can get pregnant by a man, but a real man takes care of his family. Raschid reports that in his homeland, the mother chooses the woman and he therefore cannot. Detlef then asks Richard back if he thinks about his late wife often Richard answers yes and tells what he's thinking: He often argued with his wife because she was an alcoholic. That his wife had a child illegally aborted because of him. He was always afraid that she would die.
Remarks: ↑ The page numbers correspond to the Klett edition

expenditure

Jenny Erpenbeck: Go, went, went. Novel . Knaus, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-8135-0370-8 .
Jenny Erpenbeck: Go, went, went. Novel . Penguin, Munich 2017, ISBN 978-3-328-10118-5 (paperback).
Jenny Erpenbeck: Go, went, went. Novel . Audiobook read by Friedhelm Ptok . Audiobook Hamburg 2015, 8 CD, 630 minutes.
Jenny Erpenbeck: Go, went, went. Novel . Klett, Stuttgart 2017, ISBN 978-3-12-666920-7 .

Reviews (selection)

James Wood: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/25/a-novelists-powerful-response-to-the-refugee-crisis , The New Yorker , September 25, 2017

Claire Messud: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/books/review/go-went-gone-jenny-erpenbeck.html , New York Times , December 12, 2017

Sibylle Birrer: Jenny Erpenbeck's novel Go, went, went . Stranded in the queue. The German writer wrote the novel on the current refugee crisis with her book “Gehen, geht ,iegen”. The result is not entirely satisfactory , nzz.ch , October 10, 2015

Wolfgang Schneider: Jenny Erpenbeck: GEHEN, GING, GEGANGEN , a pioneer of the welcoming culture , deutschlandradiokultur.de , October 10, 2015
Jenny Erpenbeck. Go went Gone. In her new novel, Jenny Erpenbeck lets a professor emeritus enter into a dialogue with refugees who are camping at Oranienplatz in Berlin , br.de , September 24, 2015
Ulrike Sárkány: Apollo and Tristan at Oranienplatz. Go, went, gone by Jenny Erpenbeck , ndr.de , September 16, 2015
Ulrich Seidler: “WALKED, GONE, GONE” BY JENNY ERPENBECK. A novel that makes the fate of Berlin refugees visible , berliner-zeitung.de , September 15, 2015
Friedmar Apel : Roman: Go, go, go . We became, will, are visible. Jenny Erpenbeck has written a brand new factual novel about the situation of African refugees in Berlin. Walking, walking, walking is not a call for a world better, but rather reflected entertainment , faz.net , September 16, 2015
Katharina Granzin: novel about refugee biographies. Good Richard. In Go, Go, Go, a German pensioner wants to know more about refugees. Little by little he is going from an observer to a supporter , taz.de , September 13, 2015
Rainer Moritz : Jenny Erpenbeck: Go, went, went . What can literature do? Why do we need fictional worlds that seem to tell us more cryptically about the real world than dozens of essays, editorials, talk shows or Facebook comments? The test can be put to the test with Jenny Erpenbeck's new novel I went, went, gone ( memento from September 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), mdr.de , September 8, 2015
Dana Buchzik: Jenny Erpenbeck's novel: A Berlin professor meets refugees , spiegel.de, September 2, 2015
Hannah Lühmann: A novel as a crash course in refugee studies. Jenny Erpenbeck is one of the most internationally known authors in Germany. Her new novel is a morality from a changed country: an East German pensioner gets involved with refugees , welt.de , August 31, 2015

Literary contributions

Maria Behre: "GIVE US A PLACE" - Becoming political on Oranienplatz . Jenny Erpenbeck's novel “Go, went, gone” (2015), read with Hannah Arendt's political philosophy. In: Journal for Didactics of Philosophy and Ethics . Volume 39, Issue 1: Hannah Arendt . Siebert-Verlag, 2017, ISSN 0945-6295 , p. 58-65 .

To the reception

"The fact that Erpenbeck's book was not awarded the German Book Prize despite being a favorite is also due to the jury's reluctance to put such a controversial topic at the center of literary life for one season," said Andreas Platthaus in the Frankfurter Allgemeine .

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Andreas Platthaus : Be political! And it can do it: How literature improves the world , in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , October 19, 2015, p. 9

[1] The page numbers correspond to the Klett edition

[Platthaus-2] Andreas Platthaus : Be political! And it can do it: How literature improves the world , in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , October 19, 2015, p. 9