The evening breath is cold
Cold is the evening breath is a detective novel by Ingrid Noll , published in 1996 .
content
The 83-year-old Charlotte receives a surprise visit from her brother-in-law Hugo, with whom she shares a secret that has been hidden from the family for decades: Charlotte's husband Bernhard, who had been believed to have been killed in World War II, suddenly stood in front of her house in 1947, wanted to be admitted and demanded sex. She pushed him back in horror, and he was fatally injured. Hugo, with whom she had a relationship and with whom she had been in love since her youth, walled up the body in the cellar of the house. After Charlotte had entered into an uncle marriage with the good-natured Rhinelander Anton , Hugo and Charlotte met for secret shepherds in Frankfurt , where Hugo lived as a bookseller. Contact broke off when Hugo decided to be more there for his wife, Charlotte's sister Ida, who had multiple sclerosis, and their daughter Heidemarie. After meeting them again in old age, Charlotte confesses to the family that Hugo is the previously hidden father of their youngest daughter Regine. There is a great family reconciliation; the secret of Bernhard buried in the cellar is also revealed, he is secretly buried in a garden. In the end, Hugo wants to move in with Charlotte, but she prefers to visit him in the old people's home. She feels most comfortable alone.
In addition, other savory secrets from Charlotte's family are revealed: that of the transsexual brother, the murdering granddaughter from Italy and Charlotte's younger sister Alice are just a few of a ring of fates.
The novel is largely set in Darmstadt .
title
The title takes up the line “Cold is the evening breath” from the poem The moon has risen by Matthias Claudius .
Latest issue
- Ingrid Noll: The evening breath is cold . Roman, Diogenes-Taschenbuch 23023, Zurich 1998 (first edition 1996), ISBN 978-3-257-23023-9 .
filming
In 2000, director Rainer Kaufmann implemented the novel in the 124-minute feature film of the same name . Here took Fritzi Haberlandt the role of young Charlotte, while Gisela Trowe the aged protagonist is. Other contributors are August Diehl , Georgia Stahl, André Hennicke , and Heinz Bennent , Vadim Glowna , Gisela Schneeberger and Devid Striesow in supporting roles .