Swiss literature: New publications in August 2024
Published: Friday, Jul 26th 2024, 11:20
Updated At: Saturday, Jul 27th 2024, 01:59
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Prose, spoken word, essays and poetry by Swiss authors and writers who live in Switzerland: The Keystone-SDA news agency has selected new works that will provide food for thought in August.
Eric Bergkraut: "One hundred days in spring. Story of a farewell". Limmat Verlag. 206 pages. (Published on August 22)
Ruth Schweikert's untimely death in the summer of 2023 moved many and left her family in deep mourning. Under the title "One hundred days in spring", based on Ruth Schweikert's record of an illness "Days like dogs", her life partner Eric Bergkraut bids a gentle and haunting farewell by reliving the last hundred days with Ruth and capturing her will to live, which never waned until the end.
Christian Haller: "The Institute". Novel. Luchterhand Literaturverlag. 272 pages. (Published on August 28)
On his way from studying biology to becoming a writer, Christian Haller held a senior position at the renowned Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute for several years. This experience forms the basis of his new novel. The idealistic protagonist Thyl Osterholz is given the opportunity to organize conferences on nuclear power and sustainability at the "Institute for Social Affairs" and to make contacts all over the world. But behind the shiny façade, a power struggle rages that runs counter to these idealistic goals and forces Thyl to take a stand.
Jeanette Hunziker: "Forever everything". Novel. Lenos Verlag. 220 pages. (Published on August 31)
Born in Bern in 1985, Jeanette Hunziker's debut novel tells the story of a search for her father and for herself. Her narrator has the task of organizing the funeral after her father's death and sorting out his legacy. Even though she is the child of an anonymous sperm donor, as she has known since the age of 12, she has a lot in common with him: her addiction, the psychological ups and downs. "Für immer alles" takes stock and tells the story of departure and rebellion.
Guy Krneta: "Hüener lachen angers". Stories & Spoken Word. Zytglogge publishing house. 144 pages. (Published on August 26)
Guy Krneta is a colorful bird within the spoken word scene. In his book "Hüener lachen angers", he takes his readers on a Bernese-German journey of discovery through the complexity of life and the diversity of forms of expression and living. With linguistic wit, he focuses on the little sillinesses, hopes and dreams, and shines with precise observations and a pinch of philosophy.
Eva Maria Leuenberger: "die spinne". Literaturverlag Droschl. 96 pages (Published on August 23)
Since her debut "dekarnation" (2019), Eva Maria Leuenberger from Bern has been regarded as one of the most exciting lyrical voices in the German-speaking world. In her new, third volume "die spinne", she once again combines intimate self-observation with a close look at the nature around her, its change, decay and destruction. In the symbol of the spider, she finds her very own poetic language for the interplay between inner feelings and external impressions.
Tine Melzer: "Do Re Mi Fa So". Novel. Young and Young. 176 pages. (Published on August 22)
The opera singer Samuel Saum takes a full bath in the evening and decides not to leave the bathtub again. As he sits undressed and unprotected in the tub, all his successes become stale and his whole life suddenly seems questionable. While his friend Franz serves him, he thinks about what could motivate him to leave the bathtub again and mingle with people. In her book, Tine Melzer sings an aria about vulnerability, friendship and loyalty.
Barbara Schibli: "Flimmern im Ohr". Novel. Dörlemann Verlag. 280 pages. (Published on August 22)
The wild 1970s and 1980s, when punk music was the soundtrack to Priska's life, are long gone. In the summer of 2010, she remembers this and starts practicing hearing again with an inner ear implant. At the same time, a fresh case of surveillance brings those years back to the center of attention. Priska was under surveillance at the time, as was Gina, her comrade-in-arms and great love. In the novel "Flimmern im Ohr" (Flickering in the Ear), Barbara Schibli listens to an eventful era and asks herself whether the dreams of that time still have any meaning in our lives today.
Thomas Strässle: "Fluchtnovelle". Suhrkamp Verlag. 120 pages. (To be published on August 7)
In his "escape novella", Thomas Strässle tells a truly unheard-of story. A student from the GDR and a young Swiss man fall in love in the "House of the Red Army" and do not want to give up their love. Only the Iron Curtain prevents them from living together. So they devise an ingenious escape plan to outwit the GDR system in a surprising way. On the day of the decision, however, nothing goes as planned.
Alain Claude Sulzer: "Almost like a brother". Galiani Verlag. 192 pages. (To be published on August 15)
Frank and the first-person narrator grow up together in the Ruhr area in the 1970s. They part ways when Frank goes to New York to pursue his career as an artist and later returns, unsuccessful but terminally ill. The old friends meet again on his deathbed, and Frank gives the narrator his paintings. When these paintings unexpectedly turn up in a gallery years later, the narrator recognizes himself in a male nude and experiences for himself the power and urgency of his childhood friend's art.
Vincenzo Todisco: "The story taker". Atlantis publishing house. 208 pages. (To be published on August 22)
The novel "The Lizard Child" caused a stir in 2018 with its account of how Italian migrant children grew up illegally in the closet to avoid detection by the Swiss authorities. In his new book, Todisco turns his attention to another children's story. In a mountain village in the Apennines, the boy Nerì is elected story collector. He rushes from deathbed to deathbed and listens to the last words of the dying. It is a task that reveals all the secrets of the village to him, but one that almost drives him mad because he is not allowed to talk about it.
Yusuf Yesilöz: "The dragonfly mirror". Novel. Limmat Verlag. 200 pages. (To be published on August 22)
Yusuf Yesilöz's stories and novels combine Swiss and Kurdish culture with all its tensions. The novel "Libellenspiegel" tells the story of Sahar, who is forcibly married to a gay man and has a daughter with another man. She is caught between her free lifestyle and family traditions. In Juana, a dressmaker, she meets a woman with whom she can talk about the cultural constraints and free herself from the rigid structures.
Further titles:
Jürg Beeler: "The blind king and his fool". Novel. Dörlemann Verlag, 160 pages. (To be published on August 22)
Christine Brand: "Late Revenge". Short thrillers. Atlantis Verlag, 208 pages. (To be published on August 22)
Gian Maria Calonder: "The Engadin village policeman. A case for Jon Salutt". Crime novel. Kampa Verlag. 192 pages. (Published on August 22)
Alex Capus: "The little things in life". Essays, reflections, interviews. Knapp Verlag. 170 pages. (To be published on August 20)
Petra Ivanov: "KRYO - The transgression". The KRYO trilogy, vol. 3. thriller. Unionsverlag. 320 pages (to be published on August 19)
Reinhard Kiefer: "Thomas Mann. Last love". Telegramme Verlag. 64 pages. (Published on August 12)
Michèle Minelli: "Die Verlorene. Frieda's case". Aufbau paperback. 400 pages (to be published on August 8) - the reissued book from 2015 on the film "Frieda's Fall" by Maria Brendle, which is currently being released in cinemas.
Robert Walser: "I absolutely must go for a walk. About walking through town and country". Anthology. Insel paperback. 174 pages. (To be published on August 12)
André David Winter: "Art, the black cat". Novel. Edition Bücherlese. 192 pages. (To be published on August 8)
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