Where's Carlos Montúfar?

Where's Carlos Montúfar? is the title of a non-fiction book by the German-Austrian author Daniel Kehlmann with collected texts on literature, which was first published in 2005 by Rowohlt Verlag . The volume includes reviews , speeches and essays from the previous five years.

Book title

Carlos Montúfar (1780-1816), son of Juan Pío Montúfar y Larrea, Duke of Selva-Alegre, accompanied Alexander von Humboldt from 1802 to 1804 on his second major South America expedition and also took part in the ascent of Chimborazo . He then played an important role in the first independence from Ecuador . In the title eschatology, Kehlmann explains why this historical figure has not found a place in his well-known novel Die Vermessung der Welt , although this journey is described in detail in the novel and Humboldt's companion Aimé Bonpland, on the other hand, is mentioned.

content

In the 19 chapters of the book, a total of 17 authors and their works are discussed, including Voltaire , Stendhal , Leopold von Sacher-Masoch , Tolkien , Mario Vargas Llosa , John Updike , Milan Kundera , Kurt Vonnegut , Knut Hamsun , Louis-Ferdinand Céline , Isaiah Berlin and Helmut Krausser . Kehlmann briefly describes the career of the individual writer . He then explains in detail the work and the intentions that the author pursued. Kehlmann also allows his own thoughts to flow into this. He also discusses works that are unknown in the German-speaking world, such as Milan Kundera's Jacques und seine Herr , which has not been translated into German.

contents

• Where's Carlos Montúfar? .
• God welcomes his victims . About Voltaire
• The Chronicle of Hypocrisy . Stendhal : red and black
• Put your foot on my neck! . About Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
• Soil without blood . Knut Hamsun : On overgrown paths
• Invented locks made from real stone . About JRR Tolkien
• Lust, carelessness and courage . Louis-Ferdinand Céline : Journey to the end of the night
• The guest from the future . About Isaiah Berlin
• Holden, the ducks, the children . JD Salinger : The catcher in the rye
• The compulsion to have a happy ending . Kurt Vonnegut : Search for a dream, offer me
• Where everything has disappeared to . John Updike : Rabbit, a return
• Sweaty intellectuals . Tom Wolfe : Hooking up
• What we talk about when we talk about authorship . Raymond Carver : What we talk about when we talk about love
• Appreciable, but not a Goethe . Harold Bloom : Genius
• Forward, that's somewhere . Milan Kundera : Jacques and his master
• The tear suppliers are getting closer . About Georg Kreisler
• May started terribly . Helmut Krausser's diaries
• Irony and severity .
• Read your own books .

Press reviews

“Where's Carlos Montúfar?” Is the fascinating workshop report on “Measuring the World”. [...] Kehlmann is not only an accomplished artist, but also, when it comes to ideology, a dedicated man of enlightenment. "

- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

“These are clarifying statements that shed light on entire epochs and at the same time manage to generate the unavoidable urge to review. [...] In any case, Kehlmann's suspicion of genius seems to be growing. "

- Süddeutsche Zeitung

expenditure

• 2005: Daniel Kehlmann: Where is Carlos Montúfar? . Rowohlt Verlag ; 160 pp., Paperback - ISBN 3-499-24139-0 .
• 2006: Daniel Kehlmann: Where is Carlos Montúfar? . Universal music ; Audiobook - ISBN 3-829-11763-9
  The audiobook comprises seven articles and a text that is not included in the book edition: Voltaire and Starbucks , an appreciation of the comic series The Simpsons as one of the greatest works of art of our time.
• 2009: Daniel Kehlmann: Where is Carlos Montúfar? . Rowohlt Verlag; Digital book - ISBN 978-3-644-40421-2 .

Web links

• Where's Carlos Montúfar? on the authors website
• Where's Carlos Montúfar? at Rowohlt
• Review Notes on Where's Carlos Montúfar? at perlentaucher.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Quoted from kehlmann.com (PDF; 13 kB)
2. ↑ Quoted from sueddeutsche.de  ( 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.