Heavy bones

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Heavy Bones is a novel by the Austrian writer David Schalko from 2018. It is the third part of the trilogy "Greed", the first two parts being series. The novel Heavy Bones is based on many true facts, essential historical events and real personalities of the time. It depicts a strange and fascinating world of post-war Vienna, full of whores and suburban criminals.

content

overview

Ferdinand Krutzler and his best friends Wessely, Praschak and Sikora experienced a wild youth in Erdberg . You found the Erdberger Spedition . After secretly evicting their homes, they are arrested and sent to a concentration camp . In Mauthausen , Krutzler happened to get the good position as block elder . He gets a lot of the strategies and tactics there, but doesn't tell anyone anything about what will benefit him. After being liberated by the Americans, he fled back to Vienna. There he meets his old friends again. Together they put together a large network of contacts in the underworld of Vienna. Everyone gets a zone of Vienna for which they are responsible. A huge smuggling network is created. Krutzler meets Podgorsky again, whom he met in the concentration camp . He is working again for the police and after a short time is in league with his four friends. Soon they will be assigned the "Iron Broom" mission. There are ten people on that list who must be killed. With the help of Doctor Harlacher, they let most people die a "natural" death. After Stalin's death everything changes. Krutzler and his friends have to stop smuggling and grow apart. Krutzler falls into a hole. He's getting more and more unhappy and doesn't know what to do with his life. The relationship between the Erdberger Spedition and the police is slowly dissolving and things go down the drain with the Erdberger Spedition . Towards the end of the book, Praschak moves to Panama; Wessely, Sikora and Krutzler die.

people

main characters

  • Ferdinand Krutzler: Self-defense specialist, 2 m tall, always wears black horn-rimmed glasses and looks like a stag beetle, based on Josef (self-defense) Krista
  • Wessely: Master of cards, nicknamed "pale Wessely" because of his pale skin color
  • Praschak: Fleischer, has no special talents who considers himself from many shops Erdberger forwarding out
  • Sikora: Magician, nicknamed "Skinny Sikora" because of his running style, falls in love with every prostitute

Together they make up Erdberger Spedition .

Minor characters

  • Muschkowitz (Musch): pimp, Krutzler's lover at times, is based on Wanda Kuchwalek
  • Herwig: Son of Musch
  • Rosi Krutzler: Krutzler's mother
  • Aunt Elvira: Krutzler's mother's sister, heartless, vain, dies of heat stroke
  • Nazi Huber: is responsible for Krutzler, Wessely and Sikora being sent to the concentration camp
  • Dostal: head of labor in Mauthausen concentration camp
  • Podgorsky: policeman, later Major , often infected with the Erdberger forwarding under a blanket
  • Stanek: next major, after Podgorsky's resignation, works against Erdberger Spedition
  • Grünbaum / Greenham: Jew who provides Krutzler with information in the concentration camp, later he is one of the allies of the Erdberger forwarding company
  • Gusti: Woman from Praschak
  • Bregovic: owner of the "yellow parrot"
  • Bregovic brothers: the nine sons of Bregovic
  • Doctor Harlacher: Veterinarian, carries out illegal imports of animals, ally of Erdberger Spedition
  • Chimpanzee Honzo: Harlacher's monkey; lives with him in his apartment, Harlacher would like to make her into a person as much as possible (put on clothes, etc.), she existed in real life and is now on display in the Natural History Museum Vienna
  • Kamel: works for the Krutzler
  • Lassnig: Wessely's lover
  • Bullet trap: works for the Krutzler
  • Jerabek: works for the Wessely, extremely big and terrifying
  • Black Baron: ally of Erdberger Spedition , owner of a bar
  • Schani: Wrestler on the "Heumarkt"
  • "The German": high animal of the Russians
  • Milady: belongs to the French part of Vienna, has contact with Sikora
  • Petrov: The German's superior, has his own gallery
  • Gisela: prostitute who lost both legs in the war
  • Hitler
  • Stalin

Location

Most of the story takes place in Vienna before, during and especially after World War II . After the arrest, Wessely, Sikora and Krutzler are taken to the Dachau and Mauthausen concentration camps. They later return to Vienna.

Many places in history were real, some even exist today.

action

The Erdberger Spedition (p. 11–44)

Ferdinand Krutzler, Wessely, Praschak and Sikora live in Erdberg. They are inseparable friends. They learn the craft of fraud early on. At the age of 16 you can crack any safe and your magic trick is becoming more and more popular. Wessely, a card friend, infects the others with it and from this point on all decisions are made by the cards. Even when it comes to the pussy. The Krutzler draws the highest card and a story begins that will accompany him throughout his life. The aim is to confiscate her underpants as a deposit. An easy game for the Krutzler. He gives her son Herwig a tarantula and explains to the Musch that he will free her from the spider if he gets her underpants in return. Soon, however, the four of them no longer want to deal with small rip-offs and set up the Erdberger Spedition . They skillfully clear out houses and apartments. The Nazi Huber is not spared either. However, he does not put up with this action and has the perpetrators searched for and transported to the Dachau concentration camp . Only Praschak is spared, since his father covers him on the condition that he later takes over the butcher's shop.

The great journey (pp. 45–82)

The Krutzler mother has to move into a stilt house in Strombad Kritzendorf . Meanwhile, the badges are being distributed in Dachau. The Krutzler, the Wessely and the Sikora get green because they go among the criminals. The Krutzler quickly recommended himself for higher positions and was promoted to Mauthausen . Once there, he unexpectedly gets the number 100 and thus becomes the block elder . The axis Dostal, Krutzler and Podgorsky, whom he met on the train, works so well that it is even praised by Hitler . In Mauthausen, Krutzler noticed a lot. He quickly sees through the "creativity" with which the bookkeeping is carried out in order to be able to record as many "natural" deaths as possible. There in Mauthausen he later invented the well-known Krutzler neck stitch. Krutzler is considered relatively fair in the concentration camp. Despite his privileges, he maintains close contact with the prisoners and even organizes football tournaments in his free time. The most important thing for the Krutzler is information. And so a man by the name of Grünbaum soon joins the group, a Jew who brings Krutzler information that he as a prisoner learns from the others. The goal of the Krutzler is to rise from number 100 to number 10. The takeover of Vienna would then be the step to number 1. Through the Grünbaum, Krutzler learns important information about number 10, which means the end for it and for Krutzler the rise to number 10. With number 10, he benefits from many new privileges . He can now drink a cognac with Dostal every evening, not just on Thursdays. In addition, he can now also visit the brothel.

The woman in the turban (pp. 83–106)

After the liberation of Mauthausen by the Americans, everything changed suddenly. At first Krutzler stays in the concentration camp, but soon it becomes too dangerous for him too and he has to flee. He walks down the Danube towards Vienna for three weeks. On the way he feeds exclusively on the animals that he comes across. Shortly before Vienna he passes his mother's new house. Both are not very happy to see each other. Then Krutzler fetches his treasure chest from Aunt Elvira, which he took with him from one of the house evictions and hidden money in it. He also keeps a picture of a woman in a turban.

The way to paradise (pp. 107–142)

When Krutzler visits Praschak, he meets his wife Gusti. Right from the start, the two didn't dare to cross their path. Krutzler learns from Praschak where to find the Sikora and sets off. In the yellow parrot , he tells him that there will be a meeting in Praschak's butcher's shop on Tuesday. Krutzler gets Harlacher's address from Sikora, where he gets a viper for Herwig. Then he goes to the apartment that Grünbaum told him. When he got there, he saw a letter from him, asking to intimidate a so-called Seibold. This was to be his first self-defense after the concentration camp. Then Krutzler goes to the Musch. On the way he meets Wessely. He also tells him about the meeting on Tuesday. When he arrives at the musch at the restaurant, the bartender explains to him that he cannot see the musch. That's why the Krutzler gives the bartender the box with the Viper and says it's a present for the musch. A little later the musch opens the box and the viper shoots out. You get scared and kill the viper. When this is already dead, the musch suddenly remembers Krutzler and knows that this is from him.

Dresden (pp. 143–170)

Krutzler drives to the Hotel Dresden, where Musch lives with Herwig. He finds shelter with her and spends many evenings with her son Herwig. On Tuesday, the four friends meet at Praschak's as agreed. The four of them remember old times together. They are already planning their next project again, taking control of Vienna. After the end of the war Vienna was divided into four between the Russians, Americans, British and French. These zones are shared by Krutzler, Wessely and Sikora. Krutzler takes over the American zone under the Grünbaum and Wessely, who has been working for the German in the Russian zone for a while , takes over. Sikora, the only one who speaks French, gets the French zone. Only Praschak does not get any because his wife does not allow him to interact with the occupiers. Together they smuggle cigarettes, whiskey, cigars and cognac back and forth between the zones. The Krutzler caught the best zone. He puts together a team from the camel, the Simsalabim and the bullet trap. Krutzler meets Podgorsky, who is working for the police again. His cousin killed a Russian soldier and is now to be brought to justice. Podgorsky asks the Krutzler to help him. He should convince the German to let his cousin live. The Krutzler wants to take advantage of this conversation to gain control of Vienna.

Milady (pp. 171–202)

Wessely drives Krutzler to his superior's villa. However, the German thinks it is impossible to persuade the Russians not to harm Podgorsky's cousin. Krutzler tries to convince him by saying that Podgorsky will soon be able to get upstairs and that he will have a stone in the board with him. The German thinks and then agrees.

Sikora meets a good-looking woman whom he calls Milady. She claims to be the best informed in all of Vienna. The two often meet in a bar. After a while, Sikora gets angry because she doesn't want any emotional or professional relationships with him. He then breaks into her safe and puts in a forged marriage document stating that she is married to a high-ranking Nazi. In the end, the two do have a relationship. Because the Milady belongs to the French zone, the Sikora is able to gain access to the French.

Lenin (pp. 203-234)

Wessely fell in love with Lassnig, the wife of a large industrialist. You are having an affair. Krutzler has a meeting with Commander Petrov, who is responsible for the Russian zone. He has a penchant for paintings by Lenin and has his own gallery. The Krutzler is able to convince the commandant to open all borders to the Erdberger Spedition for their smuggling operations by promising him a few days with Gisela and 8,000 dollars in return. Greenham and the German don't know anything about the negotiations. For Erdberger everything is going as it should.

In order to play off the zones against each other, the Sikora tells the Milady that Greenham is in cahoots with the Russians and the Americans. As a result, this information ends up with the international state holders, which is their goal.

In order to improve Petrov's image and to save Podgorsky's cousin, Podgorsky and other witnesses testify that it was not the cousin who made the fatal blow, but a man named Opak. After his arrest, the Americans shoot Greenham and other allies of the Erdberger forwarding company . The bullet trap barely survived the attack and once again lives up to its name. The German suddenly disappears without a trace.

Old Shatterhand (pp. 235–267)

Vienna is controlled by the Allies, the city government and the Erdbergers. Wessely takes care of the gambling and Sikora has started running brothels. Since Podgorsky is finally awarded the position of major , Krutzler throws a party for him in the yellow parrot . Doctor Harlacher is also there with Honzo. Suddenly she holds a pistol in her hand and shoots the parrot, which Bregovic does not please. Herwig comes to pick up the mussel and manages to calm the monkey.

The Erdbergers now rule Vienna. They are starting to invest more in gambling and prostitutes. Krutzler takes care of Herwig and helps to raise him.

The Musch and the Krutzler are caught in an argument. The pussy has been gone for five days. When she comes back, she says that she ended up drunk with a doctor who disguised her and took her to an Indian party. At the party, she saw a man dressed as Old Shatterhand . After much thought, she recognizes him as the Nazi Huber.

Old Firehand (pp. 268–294)

Krutzler is expected by someone in the lobby of the Hotel Dresden. Krutzler does not know him, but the visitor claims to know Krutzler from the concentration camp. He is a Jew and says that the Krutzler owes something to the Jews and that he now belongs to the new Nazi elite. The Jew gives him a list of ten names that he is supposed to kill in Operation Iron Broom . Including the Nazi Huber. Krutzler accepts the mission, also to do Podgorsky a favor, who has already helped him to be acquitted five times. The mission could spark a war between the Americans and the Russians, but the Podgorsky don't seem to mind. Before sunset, there is a meeting where Praschak has a brilliant idea how to solve the Iron Broom mission .

Later, Musch makes an Old Firehand costume for Krutzler so that he can go to the Karl May Festival with her without being recognized . When Krutzler recognized the Nazi Huber at the festival, he stabbed him without hesitation. The Musch simply pretends to faint so that Krutzler can disappear into the ensuing chaos. The other Erdberger and Musch, however, are furious that Krutzler single-handedly killed the Nazi Huber and they could not take revenge. Later the Lassnig whispers to the Krutzler drunk that she hopes that her husband will die of a heart attack. Even if she doesn't really want this, Krutzler fulfills every assignment he gets.

Carp (pp. 295–330)

Praschak believes that people on the list must die from natural causes - at least that's how it should look. To do this, the Erdberger forwarding company gets Doctor Harlacher for help. They begin their mission the very next day. Her first victim dies of mushroom poisoning after 2 weeks. The second is made by the camel, bullet trap and jerabek get drunk and then eat a carp, which eventually suffocates on the bones. Then the members of the Erdberger Spedition are called to an emergency meeting at which Podgorsky informs them that the Americans have their sights on them. The third and fourth act then happen at the same time. The Erdberger forwarding , with the assistance of Podgorsky Americans duped. Podgorsky tells them a wrong plan how they can convict the Erdberger.

A dispute breaks out between the Russians and the Americans and Stalin breaks off the Iron Broom campaign . But Krutzler still has one more murder to commit. He drives the bullet trap and the camel to the Lassnig house. Later it will be said that Mr. Lassnig died of heart failure. Back in the car, Kugelfang and Krutzler have a very strange feeling. Krutzler turns to the bullet trap and sees that he had betrayed the Erdberger forwarding company to the Americans. Thereupon he is banished from the Viennese underworld and abandoned in the forest. During the investigation of Lassnig's death, outside interference is found, whereupon Lassnig is sure that it was Krutzler. The police need a perpetrator and since Krutzler has all the strings in hand, Wessely decides to go to jail for him.

Stalin (pp. 331–358)

After Stalin's death, things changed in Vienna. This is also the case for Erdberger Spedition , which can no longer carry out their work as smugglers. Everyone does their own thing and they avoid each other. The Krutzler argues with Musch and a world collapses for him. You can tell that Krutzler is weakening and is no longer who he used to be. Podgorsky and Harlacher want to cheer up Krutzler a little. Harlacher has the plan to open a restaurant in which endangered animals are on the menu. In this way he hopes to lure the rich to Vienna. Krutzler is supposed to help smuggle the animals, but he has no desire to do so. While Krutzler is talking to Podgorsky and Harlacher about his idea in the bar of the black baron, his mother calls. She was in danger and he should go to see her in Kritzendorf immediately. Krutzler does not think this is necessary and a lengthy conversation ensues in which the mother says once more what kind of useless her son is.

Things that don't exist (pp. 359–390)

After all, Krutzler takes the camel to see his mother. You can find them covered with branches on the banks of the Danube. She says she had a strange day yesterday. Suddenly there was a horde of Hawaiians in their garden. When she wanted to go to them, they were suddenly no longer in the garden, but on their roof. Since she was so afraid of them afterwards, she now spent the night covered with branches on the Danube.

Harlacher arrives and diagnoses the mother's hallucinations . The mother then invites everyone to dinner. The black baron comes too. He too suffers from hallucinations . They eat the fish served together, which doesn't even exist.

After the meal, the camel is assigned to take care of the Krutzler mother. However, this soon drives him insane as her hallucinations get worse and worse. Later she imagines a flood and suffocates from it.

Krutzler is once more in the baron's bar when he receives a call from Jerabek. It seems important and the two meet in Krutzler's apartment. You play Russian Roulette and the third shot hits the Jerabek. Afterwards everyone suspected Krutzler of killing him, but it could be proven that it was suicide. But this was not entirely by chance, because Krutzler had previously learned from Musch that Lassnig had instructed Jebarek to do this, and so Krutzler knew which type of revolver Jebarek would bring with him, and could then replace the cartridge with a dummy.

Meat castles (p. 391–424)

Ferdinand Krutzler has lost contact with his cronies. He lives lonely in wealth in his apartment. His most valuable possession is the room in which he has 30 grandfather clocks that tick at exactly the same time. Krutzler decides to contact the Praschak. He talks to him about the times before, about how the people with whom they used to deal have changed. Praschak now owns a game office on the Heumarkt . When Krutzler intervenes there in the games, he first overthrows the series winner Schani, which is extremely bad for business for Praschak. When he started a fight a little later and shot Schani in the legs, Praschak had enough and he threw Krutzler out. The Sikora and the Podgorsky also reprimand him.

The Sikora is working on a plan to free the Wessely from prison. When the Austrian Foreign Minister gave a speech a few days later, which the prison guards also listened to, Wessely pretended to be dead in his cell, so that the ambulance was called. But before the real ambulance service leaves, the Sikora and the Harlacher come and pretend to be paramedics, whereupon they carry the Wessely to freedom. Since Krutzler suspects that most will suspect him, he wants to sleep with the pussy so that he has an alibi. But she doesn't want that and so he goes to a bar, in which nobody will remember him later.

Metamorphoses (pp. 425–456)

Herwig moves in with the Krutzler because Musch is in prison for assault. However, since the Herwig brings all kinds of animals home with him, the Krutzler does not last long with him and becomes completely insane. In the end he brings Herwig to Doctor Harlacher, who is very happy about it.

Krutzler receives an invitation from Wessely, who is hiding in Salzburg disguised as a count. When he arrives at the train station, Lassnig, now Wessely's wife, picks him up. That one is still recovering from his prison break and has changed a lot. He now wants to lead a normal life. Krutzler is supposed to bring Wessely back to prison on behalf of Podgorsky. Since he does not do this, the relationship between him and the Podgorsky becomes fragile and thus also the relationship between the Erdberger Spedition and the police. The long-term system of Erdberger Spedition is slowly going down the drain, everyone is responsible for himself.

The Krutzler visits Harlacher to get a drug for the Musch, as she is always very unhappy. When he meets Harlacher, he learns that he and Herwig have long fallen out over different opinions about the monkey and that Herwig no longer lives with him. He moved back to Musch's old apartment, where Krutzler found him. The apartment is like a jungle, everything is overgrown and there are exotic animals everywhere. Herwig's new favorite is his crocodile, who kills him a few weeks later. Krutzler visits the pussy in prison, tells her that Herwig is fine, and kisses her to give her the drug. However, the two are caught and Krutzler is banned from visiting.

The Song of a Sad Sunday (pp. 457–490)

The police overheard a critical conversation between Podgorsky and Praschak, whereupon Podgorsky is deposed and retires. Stanek will be his successor. In Praschak's life there are a few problems and incidents that bring him back to the butcher's shop to see his wife Gusti. Nevertheless, he is still involved in all the underworld businesses, including those of Sikora, which he doesn't like. The police are increasingly taking action against the Viennese underworld and are carrying out some raids.

Wessely visits the Krutzler. They talk about Wessely's misunderstandings with Lassnig, the rest of the time they are silent. A little later, Sikora and Praschak arrive and tell that Praschak accidentally killed someone. The four friends sit down and it's almost like old times. They decide to go to a bar to do the Hundred Trick one last time. They celebrate for a while, because it is clear that Praschak has to go, otherwise he would go to jail. He decides to move to Panama, where he gets married and becomes a completely different person.

Krutzler gets a call from the zoo director. The monkey has been there for a long time and is now dying. The Krutzler should help her in her last moments.

Wanderlust (pp. 491-518)

Wessely has gone into hiding as a count and no one knows exactly where he is. The police are frustrated that they don't catch him and everything seems to be better between him and Lassnig.

Sikora sees Krutzler's treasure chest with the picture of the woman in the turban. He doesn't give up until Krutzler tells who she is. However, Krutzler does not tell him the truth, instead he invents a huge story about this woman named Dora. Sikora is very fond of her, worships her like a goddess and imagines their life together. A short time later he is arrested for a minor matter and ends up in prison.

Musch is now free and Krutzler decides to visit her. When he stands in front of her front door, she only gives him a few blows. Stanek shows up at Krutzler's house and makes him an offer. The rest of his troop was done and he should finally leave the Viennese underworld to the Bregovic brothers. Stanek gives him time to think about it, and Krutzler goes on vacation to Italy for a while.

Secret Agents (pp. 519-546)

Krutzler and the Bregovic brothers are at war, Krutzler does not want to give up Vienna. He hires a lot of spies who ingratiate themselves with the Bregovic brothers, and Krutzler hardly shows himself to the public anymore.

When Sikora is released from prison, Krutzler asks him to spy on the Bregovic brothers for him. The Sikora only does this on the condition that the Wessely must also participate. In order to attract Wessely, Krutzler publishes an obituary with a hidden message. The police, including Stanek, become aware of this. To put them on the wrong track, Krutzler asks the black baron for help. He agrees and the police fall for the trick. Krutzler meets Wessely at the train station, who already has a new camouflage with which he enjoys complete immunity. The two talk and meet with the Sikora later. The three Erdbergers sit down to discuss the problem with the Bregovic brothers. During this conversation Sikora asks the others to kill him too, so that he can be reunited with his Dora. The two also fake it up to the last second, but then leave him alive. The Sikora is still alive for two weeks before he is found dead in his apartment.

Asphalt (pp. 547–569)

After Sikora's death, Krutzler withdraws and barricades himself in his apartment. Podgorsky suffers from Alzheimer's disease and sees a conspiracy around every corner. Wessely wants to meet the Krutzler. Before this meeting, the Krutzler celebrates with the baron in the tiki bar. At the meeting, Wessely tries to kill Krutzler, but Krutzler can defend himself and kills Wessely. Krutzler is badly injured and nobody helps him. He barely makes it to the yellow parrot . Once there, he takes the hidden pistol from his hiding place and kills all of the Bregovic brothers except for the youngest. The Krutzler is arrested, survived his injuries, speaks his last words and hangs himself in his cell. The Musch sees the obituary and visits Krutzler's grave to say goodbye to him.

shape

genus

Heavy bones belongs to the genus Roman .

Narrative technique

The novel is generally written in the past and in the subjunctive. It is not a linear narrative; insertions from the past and the future keep appearing. Often words, sentences or entire sections are written in italics. Mostly it is a direct speech or written down (e.g. letters). The novel is told in a narrative way, things are described but not commented on.

language

The original language of the novel is German. However, there are also many Austrian and a few French and Russian terms.

Narrative perspective

The narrator seems to know everything. He mainly "accompanies" Krutzler, but he also knows what other people are telling and thinking. It is therefore an authorial narrative perspective , so the narrator's attitude is neutral.

reception

Heavy bones was mostly rated positively. From time to time the narrative form and the loss of tension towards the end of the novel were criticized.

In the Frankfurter Allgemeine, Tobias Döring assesses that Schalko has succeeded in creating a strong mix of crime, social novel, political thriller and much more that you have to get addicted. "A three-penny novel, Grand Guignol and glaring fun, full of plot and punch lines, full of weird types, crazy scenes, everyday wisdom, absurdity and little pieces, much of it totally over the top and thus dizzyingly enthralling." He is of the opinion that Schalko inscribed himself in Wolf Haas' champions league with his fourth novel. The novel is presented by an omniscient narrator who is half the voice of the milieu, half a participating observer: "(...) as if we were listening to a late contemporary witness in a Viennese suburb during eighteen hard drinking nights."

Dietmar Jacobsen criticizes the occasional lack of narrative discipline in the cover culture magazine, which is the only shortcoming in the whole novel. Sometimes bloody and bizarre, sometimes with a lot of black humor, the story is told. "In the» Wianer «tone, it comes across as a gangster saga in which a lot of social criticism and a bitterly angry view of post-war Austria are contained." There is a lot of discussion about Schalko's other works, especially about his work for television, such as ›Braunschlag‹ (2011) or ›Altes Geld‹ (2015) and that there will probably be no film adaptation of this novel, but you should never Say "never".

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Interview with David Schalko , David Baum, Stern.de , April 11, 2018, accessed on May 8, 2020.
  2. ↑ a b Splatter stoicism according to Viennese style , Burkhard Müller, Süddeutsche Zeitung , May 29, 2018, accessed on May 8, 2020.
  3. ↑ a b Im Wiener Schmugglereldorado , Tobias Döring, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , September 26, 2018, accessed on May 8, 2020.
  4. ↑ a b c Kriminelle Spediteure , Dietmar Jacobsen, Titel-Kulturmagazin.net , January 20, 2019, accessed on May 8, 2020.
  5. ^ Wiener Schmäh and Wiener Schmier , Michael Drewniok, Krimi-Couch.de , January 2019, accessed on May 8, 2020.

expenditure