Ferdinand von Schirach’s new collection of short stories is called “Afternoons”. There are 26 of them. The shortest ones are on just one page and are perfect for reading on long afternoons in a café. Along with a decent cup of coffee, and maybe also – God forbid! – some cigarettes. Ferdinand von Schirach is inspired by many, but he is like no one else. On the floor below the Nobel laureate I once visited him myself in his office in Meinikestrasse on the absolute best west side of Berlin. By then I had read his first book in Norwegian, “Forbryetser”. The Hungarian writer and Nobel Prize winner Imre Kertész lived on the floor above. He was a survivor of Auschwitz. Von Schirach talked about this neighborhood in his previous book, “Coffee and Cigarettes”, which was on the German bestseller list for months. In that book there is also the sentence that summarizes the entire authorship: In other words, he is best known for summarizing the experiences he has gained in his work as a defense lawyer. The first books consisted of stories that, for lack of a better expression, I would call behind-the-scenes of criminal cases. Now he writes more about himself, and his new wandering life as an international best-selling author. It could quickly become both self-absorbed and coquettish, but it mostly isn’t. Met woman at Trump hotel For von Schirach is the most well-mannered in the author class. He spent his childhood at a Jesuit school. His stories are full of classical education, which rubs off on the reader. Like a traveling HC Andersen, possibly Rachel Cusk, he travels around and collects stories, which are often told to him by strangers he meets – and never sees again. The first story opens in a hotel in Taipei. Von Schirach hears a legend that there is an old man sitting somewhere with a book in which it is recorded who everyone in the world will marry. Every human being is from birth linked to a special human being by a common thread. Good to know! In the footsteps of Bill Murray The author himself has a memory of such a woman, whom he met at the Trump hotel Plaza in New York. He writes: “For the sake of goodness and love, man should not allow death any dominion over his thoughts. This is the only sentence in Thomas Mann’s ‘Trolldomsfjellet’ that is set in italics. The sentence is not justified, because there is no justification for it, just as there is no justification for life and for continuing to live. I said this phrase out loud to myself for so many years, until it became just a rhythm, a ring, and a creed. And now, after a very long time, there are often afternoons when I no longer look the other way when I pass a cafe where we were together.” In another story, we are in Tokyo, where von Schirach checks into the same hotel that Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson stayed at in “Lost in Translation” by Sofia Coppola. Good in short format Ferdinand von Schirach is very good in this short format, although it is certainly possible to discuss the format of the author. He is good, a little uneven, but good. Very happy to discuss his subject – law – on the border of the dosatory. Very melancholic, bordering on coquettish. Without the joy of reading him diminishing. Maybe on the contrary? Out of twenty-six stories, I vouch for about twenty. Maybe it’s not such a bad payoff when you draw literary sketches freehand? Hello! I read and review literature in news. Please also read my review of “Kairos” by Jenny Erpenbeck, “Details” by Ia Genberg, or Franz Kafka’s “The Process” translated by Jon Fosse. news reviewer Photo: Gyldendal Title: “Afternoons” Author: Ferdinand von Schirach Language: Bokmål Original title: “Nachmittage” Genre: Short story collection Publisher: Gyldendal Pages: 143 Published: 2023 Translator: Sverre Dahl Read more of Knut Hoem’s reviews of Ferdinand von Schirach:
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“Afternoons” by Ferdinand von Schirach – Reviews and recommendations
