Reading by Jochen Missfeldt

The story of a summer after the war

"How long will it take to get there?" - "A whole novel could fit in, if you like." In "Abschiedssommer" (dtv), schoolboy Gustav Hasse spends the summer holidays of 1959 at the Geltinger Bucht. His thoughts keep returning to Johanna - if only it weren't for the slap he gave her out of jealousy. He feels guilty, but what does guilt even mean to him? His art teacher is the painter Gerhard Fritz Hensel, whose sister Hedwig, as Gustav gradually discovers, was married to the Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss. He digs deeper and deeper into these monstrous large and small things. In his novel, Missfeldt weaves together family origins, the North German landscape, and German history in a poetic way.

Jochen Missfeldt, born in 1941 in Satrup near Schleswig, has published novels including "Solsbüll", "Steilküste", and "Sturm und Stille", as well as a widely acclaimed biography of Theodor Storm. He has received numerous awards for his work.

Host: Tilman Spreckelsen