10/03 Sven Regener: Berlin Blues
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The novel describes the life of Herr Lehmann and his friends in the Berlin of the late 1980's, more precisely their lives in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg during September/November 1989. Herr Lehmann has been living there for nine years, working as a barman in one of his employer's numerous bars. His ambitionless live is kept in its quiet mode by a complementing idleness, both of which he has successfully managed to protect from any demands by parents, friends and girl-friends.
Suddenly, however, a succession of extremely interfering events seems to plunge his solid, quiet and content life into chaos: It begins with a dog obstructing his nightly way home, followed by a phone call from his mother announcing his parents' visit. Then, of course, he falls in love - with Katrin, "the beautiful chef". He gets drawn into a fight from which he emerges as the inventor of the "Kreuzberg ear-screw". His first and last trip to East Berlin ends at the border, where he is arrested and then sent back home. And he only visits the public swimming-pool Prinzenbad because he wants to meet Katrin again. However, just the mere fact of being there lets him succumb to a crises-like reflection on whether to consider oneself as the "arsebombing rowdy", or the pensioner who uses the ladder to climb into the water.
Herr Lehmann, sometimes "wonderfully simple", only reluctantly accepts the role of the tragic hero. However, his quiet courage, his affinity for hair-splitting issues of no significance and gloomy nagging make him a great personality in his own right. The most mundane things suddenly reach near poetic greatness when put under his philosophically pessimistic scrutiny. Behind such greatness even the fall of the Berlin Wall is of secondary importance.
The tragic, partly farcical humour originates, on the one hand, from the ridiculousness of situations in which the hero and his friends find themselves, on the other hand, from the dia- and monologues in which Herr Lehmann and his fellow citizens engage. Arguments with East German customs officials or Berlin bus drivers soon become small victories for Herr Lehmann. Conversations with his friends give "expert" judgement on the Kreuzberg bar scene, Berlin in general, and their own lives.
But, not to worry, after a beer "everything will be just fine". According to Mr Lehmann.
Sven Regener, singer and song writer of the German band Element of Crime, has written a loving, charming and funny portrait of a man and his surroundings. The author is member of the up and coming young generation of German writers, which has received considerable attention in recent years.
AK
| Bibliografic Details | |
| German | English Translation |
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Hardcover: |
Hardcover: Not available yet. |
| Paperback: Regener, Sven: Herr Lehmann. Goldmann, München. 2005 ISBN 3-442-46128-6 EUR 10,00 |
Paperback: Regener, Sven: Berlin Blues. Vintage, London. 2004 ISBN 0-09-944923-4 EUR 18,90 |
| Audio-CD: Regener, Sven: Herr Lehmann. Roof Music, Bochum. 2002 ISBN 3-933686-87-3 EUR 24,90 |
Audio-CD: Not available yet. |
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DVD: |
DVD: Herr Lehmann / nach dem Roman von Sven Regener. Ein Film von Leander Haussmann. mit Christian Ulmen, Detlev Buch, Katja Danowski ... Erschienen: Hamburg : Universal Pictures Germany, 2004 EUR 9,99 |
