Love brand
Liebesbrand is a German-language novel by the writer Feridun Zaimoğlu . It was published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch in 2008 and tells a love story based on a serious bus accident.
action
At the beginning, David, a German “who came a little later”, originally without an “i” but with a “u” in his first name, dies in a bus accident in Turkey . From the flames of the accident he suddenly falls into the flames of love when a woman with a German accent (an angelic apparition?) Gives him help at the scene of the accident and then disappears. Enthusiastic, back in Germany, despite few clues that he has, he does everything in his power to find her again.
The novel takes its protagonist, who is in search of the woman of life, a financially independent late thirties after considerable profits on the stock exchange, starting from Turkey in his home town of Kiel ("to the edge of civilization"), Nienburg an der Weser , Vienna and Prague .
backgrounds
On August 31, 2006, the author survived a head-on collision between a coach and a truck , in which 15 people died and 21 people were injured. He processed this experience in the opening chapter.
One day after the accident, Zaimoglu received the offer to “write this story”, initially for a magazine. The eyewitness account ultimately led him into the novel.
The word combination Liebesbrand may be unusual in German. In Turkish, the synonymous Sevda Yanığı is a more common term. There is also a song by Funda Arar .
"I knew lighter sparks, but no love ardor in my heart, I was depraved in the West, I was a thoroughly degenerate man of the West, and I had no idea of the tradition of oriental woman worship," says Zaimoglu his novelist. The title "love brand" means the attempt to transfer the "tradition of oriental woman worship" to the West.
Meaning and awards
Reviews of the book have been consistently positive. For Die Welt , Zaimoglu has "definitely written himself at the forefront of German authors" with this novel. For some critics, the work, which also praises his “wonderful sense of burlesque” (Rüdenauer), even follows on from German Romanticism.
Soon after its publication in 2008, a second edition of the love novel had to be printed.
The book was awarded the Corine .
In addition, Liebesbrand was nominated for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize (Category: Fiction ) and received the second prize here. The SWR best list also named Liebesbrand in April 2008 in second place. The German Book Prize included the novel in its “longlist” shortlist.
Wolfgang Schäuble gave the work to German journalists as his summer vacation reading in 2008, which also led to reports in the Turkish media.
The writer about his book
To the image of women
“I don't think that's conservative, (David) longs for (Tyra), he's not a strong man, he responds to their conditions. Sure, he's boisterous and he looks ridiculous. That cannot be avoided. "
For integration
“(David) has no problem with his identity, and it doesn't matter in the actual story either. This is also the case in reality: of course there are identity brawlers and those who refuse to Germany, but they are in the minority. For most of the second and third generation Germans of Turkish and Kurdish origin, there are no ethnic demarcation lines. I see more of a pragmatism there. Turning to the important things in life, an identity conflict is not important. "
To your own storytelling tradition
“I myself feel part of German romanticism. But because of my biography and my name, I am automatically assigned to the oriental side. These two concepts don't differ that much. The minstrel, the physicality, that is what romanticism and the oriental tradition of woman worship have in common. That is a physical desire. "
Others
Liebesbrand has also been published as an audio book, spoken by Stephan Schad .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Feridun Zaimoglus “Liebesbrand” ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at Ö1 Inforadio
- ↑ Hajo Steinert: Feridun Zaimoglu's "Liebesbrand" is pure passion in Die Welt
- ↑ http://yenisafak.com.tr/Dunya/?t=01.08.2008&i=132311
- ↑ a b c Writer Feridun Zaimoglu: "Love is reactionary" in Der Spiegel
