Judith Schalansky

Now nice it would be to be an animal, “a real animal, without a consciousness that impedes one’s will”. But since even feelings can be a nuisance, it would be more attractive to be a plant. One would have leaves that used their chlorophyll to carry out photosynthesis. (…) Biology teacher Inge Lohmark thinks such appealing thoughts to herself in Judith Schalansky’s novel Der Hals der Giraffe. In so doing, she is following an escape instinct that probably every species has. She has perhaps another ten years to go before she retires, but her school in a Western Pomeranian town will probably close down before then. There are not enough children in this region. People are moving away, services are being cut back and unemployment is high. Here, the vision that vegetation will reconquer urban spaces and nature will ultimately prevail over all human culture with its flighty achievements is not easy to dismiss. (…) Der Hals der Giraffe may be read as a subtle contribution to the debate on education. Its subtitle is Bildungsroman (a type of novel concerned with the education, development and maturing of the protagonist), a concept that is fulfilled, or rather broken down, in a number of ways. After all, education is something which, in Inge Lohmark’s view, is contrary to nature and is therefore questionabled.

Jörg Magenau: „Kein Artenschutz für Menschen“
© Süddeutsche Zeitung, 28 September 2011