New Books in German Autumn 2023

Vertigo is a sensational debut about a young woman’s spiral out of control, by Swiss nightclub DJ Saskia Winkelmann....

Vertigo is a sensational debut about a young woman’s spiral out of control, by Swiss nightclub DJ Saskia Winkelmann.

The last term of high school in a small Swiss town brings new beginnings, but a tragic end for the eighteen-year-old protagonist. She lives with her mother, who hardly ever leaves the house. Her refuge is the botanical garden, and she has had no friends since her gerbils died. She is bored, about to graduate from high school, and doesn’t know what to do with herself. Then she meets Jo, and things start to happen. The novel is narrated in the first person and told exclusively from the perspective of its unnamed narrator.

The intense relationship between Jo and the narrator is explored: Jo does not care what others think and is immune to expectations. She dares to do anything. At an illegal basement club and Jo’s family hunting lodge, the protagonist has her first experiences with drugs, electronic music, and sex. A deep friendship develops between the two young women. But then everything goes wrong.

The narrator’s father is largely absent but does provide her with a loft apartment to live in when she moves out of her mother’s house. When she moves there, she loses all sense of a daily routine and spirals into freefall.

At the hunting lodge, while the two girls are high on drugs, Jo drowns. The narrator is taken in by the police for questioning, but as she is cross-examined, she feels utterly detached, as if her body is not her own. She refuses to communicate, feeling cut off from the world. She is then taken into psychiatric care, where she works with a psychiatrist, whom she calls ‘the Queen’, beginning to process what has happened.

This is a book about queerness and the experience of growing up on the periphery of mainstream culture. The narrative does not move forward in a linear way, but flashes back and forth, teasing the reader with slow reveals. There is a growing sense of dread, and the dawning realisation that something is going to go terribly wrong. This is a compulsive, page-turner of a novel, where the reader becomes highly invested in the fate of the characters.

Vertigo is a timeless story of self-discovery and tragic loss bound up with substance abuse and addiction: a coming-of-age narrative with a bitter twist, told with the fresh voice and engaging perspective of a talented new writer.

A journalistic work of international scope, Christian Jakob’s ENDZEIT is a well-balanced and insightful analysis of current thinking about a global apocalypse...

A journalistic work of international scope, Christian Jakob’s ENDZEIT is a well-balanced and insightful analysis of current thinking about a global apocalypse and the future of life on Earth. Written with great intelligence and engaging wit, it looks at the broad range of challenges facing humanity, offering a timely antidote to the widespread despair often felt in popular discourse and the media.

Divided into 23 brief yet illuminating chapters, ENDZEIT is a comprehensive survey of the numerous threats that may lead us to the “end of time”. Dominated by climate change and its attendant problems – the heating of the oceans, mass migration of humans – the list also includes nuclear conflict, a further pandemic and the collapse of financial systems. Jakob references many works of German literature, as well as English- and French-language sources, offering a distinct perspective on international issues.

Besides examining the “polycrisis” humanity is currently facing, Jakob looks at proposals for solving its various components –at both the global/political and individual level. We thus encounter chronicles of migration and “prepping”, as well as interrogations of the psychology behind political choices. Jakob is equally at home writing about the potential impact on democracy of crisis situations, reviewing the ways in which concern for the future is affecting the younger generation’s relationship with their parents. ENDZEIT is further strengthened by a discussion of the media’s role in suppressing facts and spreading fear, as well as a review of apocalyptic predictions that surface in religious belief systems.

As a news editor for taz who has written book-length studies of migration, right-wing extremism and European dictatorships, Christian Jakob is well versed in his subject matter, and his accessible prose style makes ENDZEIT a truly engaging and informative read. Often sobering yet not without hope, this is an important contribution to the discussion about our shared future that will appeal to both general and more academic readerships.

Wide-ranging and informative, Die Welt ist laut is a timely study of noise throughout the history of the world. As well as...

Wide-ranging and informative, Die Welt ist laut is a timely study of noise throughout the history of the world. As well as exploring the various sources of noise – both natural and manmade – and charting how these have changed over time, Kessler examines humanity’s ongoing attempts to measure noise and manage its impacts on our health and well-being. International in scope yet with a distinctly European flavour, this is an original book that can be used as a reference text as well as appealing to general interest.

Die Welt ist laut employs a clear chronological structure, moving from ancient history to the present day. Kessler’s scope is ambitious as he explores what creates noise, taking in everything from the whine of a mosquito to the eruption of Krakatoa, the rattling of mill wheels to the explosion of bombs in modern warfare. Particularly since the industrial revolution and the introduction of motor vehicles, humans have sought to investigate and curb the effects of noise pollution – a subject that Kessler engages with in detail and that has particular relevance given the rapid pace of urbanisation today.

Drawing primarily on the examples of London and New York City, Die Welt ist laut is a relatable work that contains many fascinating insights into human history. In looking to the past, Kessler often turns to famous German figures, such as Schopenhauer and Heine, whose observations on the rising levels of urban noise are proof that this is not a purely modern phenomenon. With most sound now produced by humans, not nature, will the lessons we have learned throughout the past millennia help us to manage noise levels effectively in the future?

Building on many years of research, Die Welt ist laut is a fascinating work of non-fiction that showcases Kessler’s talent as a journalist and background in music. Offering a wealth of facts and interesting perspectives, it is a timely and engaging read that is sure to stimulate discussion.

Eva von Redecker’s philosophical essay argues for the need to rethink the concept of freedom in view of the climate...

Eva von Redecker’s philosophical essay argues for the need to rethink the concept of freedom in view of the climate crisis. Her work is a fresh and engaging thought experiment at the intersection of philosophy, natural sciences, and environmentalism.

Von Redecker argues that rather than conceiving of freedom as a mainly spatial concept – freedom to roam, to do whatever we want whenever and wherever – we should include a temporal element in its reconception. Freedom thus becomes the freedom to stay, to live in the moment, to spend time in a meaningful way, both with other human beings and in/with nature. This rethinking gives us the capacity to reduce or even reverse the impact modernisation has had on the planet over the last two hundred years.

Von Redecker’s book will appeal to readers of philosophy as well as to readers interested in manifestos and treatises on political economy, such as Simon Sharpe’s Five Times Faster: Rethinking the Science, Economics, and Diplomacy of Climate Change, Eric Holthaus’s The Future Earth, and the numerous books on degrowth that have appeared in the last few years. Rather than providing practical solutions for alleviating the climate crisis, this personal philosophical essay aims to raise questions and prompt the reader to explore new ways of thinking.

The essay is divided into three parts: wealth of time, fulfilled time, and time of abundance. The word play models the systematic shift that von Redecker advocates: from a traditional concept of freedom focusing on the individual’s right to move freely in geographical space and based on the modern, capitalist view of history as linear progression and accumulation of riches, to a concept of freedom that sees us voluntarily staying put more often, living in the moment and being part of a community. The idea of ‘freedom to stay’ prioritises the well-being of the environment and future generations ahead of our own desires to travel and accumulate wealth.

Freedom to Stay combines autobiographical elements (von Redecker’s upbringing on an eco-farm, her father’s year-long battle with cancer, her interactions with loved ones that affect her thinking) with a tour de force account of Western philosophy, economics, and the natural sciences. Von Redecker draws on a wide range of sources, from Plato via Hobbes and Hutton to contemporary feminist thinkers such as Luisa Muraro. This is a truly interdisciplinary essay that pulls together highly disparate strands of thought in an engaging and thought-provoking manner.