Schlemm (novel)

Schlemm is a true story based novel by Swiss author and journalist Nicola Bardola . The protagonist Luca searches for the reasons for the self-determined end of his parents' life. Schlemm was first published by A1 Verlag in 2005.

title

The Duden , German universal dictionary defines: “Schlemm, der; -s, -e slam, eigtl. = bang, blow] (Bridge): won game in which you get 12 or all 13 tricks. ”The title of the novel refers to the figure Paul Salamun, a 75-year-old bridge master and mathematician who fell ill with cancer is. Salamun transfers the concept of the card game to life. With the self-determined death Salamun plans to win the game of his life. Before publication, the publisher and author discussed whether the title The greatest possible proof of love would be more appropriate.

content

The couple Paul and Franca Salamun initially only let their sons and their wives in on their plans for a self-determined death. Son Luca - himself the father of one child - traces the past and puts himself in the position of his father, a bridge master and mathematician who, after being diagnosed with cancer, decided not to have an operation at the age of 75. Luca tries to understand his mother, too, who has a secret that she doesn't want to reveal. What thoughts precede the freely chosen double death? How do the bereaved react? Father Paul Salamun reminisces about his life with his wife Franca in the wintry Engadine during the last hike.

discussion

Schlemm received a lot of media attention. Bardola appeared on numerous talk shows , including with Johannes B. Kerner and Wieland Backes. and Markus Lanz. There was also interest from academic, church and medical sides. The ethical and moral aspect was often in the foreground. In the program “Feature am Sonntag” on SWR 2 “I don't want to live without you. Double suicides in fiction and reality ”, Schlemm was compared with the statements of the philosopher André Gorz . Bardola participated in numerous panel discussions and published essays and lectures on the topic. SWR shot a film nominated for the Literavision Prize at the location of the novel in Sent in the Lower Engadine.

reception

The literary criticism responded positively. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung wrote: “The shocking thing about this unusual book is not just the subject of self-determined death. What gives Nicola Bardola's novel 'Schlemm' a new, unsettling explosiveness is the mental lining a little off the beaten track. "The biographical aspect was often emphasized, but the literary expression was also taken into account:" The fact is: everyone dies at some point. But you definitely don't die stupidly after reading 'Schlemm' - and then maybe, if the worst comes to the worst, decide to commit suicide. And: It would be difficult to surpass 'Schlemm' in its linguistic beauty and quality of content ”. Other reviewers emphasized the portrayal of conflict.

style

The language had a different effect on literary criticism. The paperback edition (Heyne, 2007) appeared with 32 pages of background material. It lists numerous book reviews, the judgments of which vary on the language. The spectrum ranges from “sensitive” and “poetic” to “authentic” and “almost clinically cool” in literaturkritik.de.

Quote

“People who help other people to commit suicide in Germany are liable to prosecution. 'Failure to provide assistance' is the charge. In addition, you don't get the drug in Germany, a strong pain reliever and sleep aid. Above all, the churches and the medical profession in Germany ensure that nothing has changed for decades. That is why it remains with dying emigration abroad. The ethical and moral approach in Switzerland is much more liberal than in Germany. "

expenditure

Slam. A1, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-927743-79-8 / Heyne, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-453-81169-0 / Piper, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-492-98507-9 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ BuchMarkt Verlag K. Werner: Tonight, BuchMarkt author Nicola Bardola is visiting Johannes B. Kerner with his debut novel “Schlemm” | Book market. Retrieved on February 6, 2017 (German). 
2. ↑ BuchMarkt Verlag K. Werner: Today & tomorrow again SCHLEMM at arte | Book market. Retrieved on February 6, 2017 (German). 
3. ^ Südwestrundfunk (SWR) program information for Friday, December 2, 2005 (week 48) . In: presseportal.de . ( presseportal.de [accessed on February 6, 2017]).
4. ↑ imfernsehen GmbH & Co. KG: Markus Lanz, episode 11. Accessed on February 6, 2017 . 
5. ↑ Search results: bardola. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; accessed on February 6, 2017 .  ( 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.    
6. ^ Death by appointment: EKHN ǀ Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau. Retrieved February 6, 2017 . 
7. ↑ Doctors newspaper: May the doctor also bring death? Retrieved February 6, 2017 . 
8. ^ SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg, Germany: “Ultimate solution” - SPIEGEL WISSEN 4/2012. Retrieved February 6, 2017 . 
9. ↑ The image of man and human dignity at the end of life - Heidelberg University. Retrieved February 6, 2017 . 
10. ↑ Nicola Bardola: Schlemm. Novel . ( perlentaucher.de [accessed on February 6, 2017]).
11. ↑ Nicola Bardola's novel "Schlemm": Death instead of desire . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . August 28, 2006, ISSN  0376-6829 ( nzz.ch [accessed February 6, 2017]).
12. ↑ Kultura-Extra, the online magazine. Retrieved February 6, 2017 . 
13. ↑ Schlemm by Nicola Bardola. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 2, 2013 ; accessed on February 6, 2017 . 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.  
14. ↑ By Liliane Studer: The easy dying - Nicola Bardola tries to understand death as desired: literaturkritik.de. Retrieved February 6, 2017 . 
15. ↑ GIPFELRUF Episode 45: Nicola Bardola | dasgedichtblog | THE POEM blog. Retrieved on February 6, 2017 (German).