Sven Regener

In his first novel, Sven Regener, born 1961 and singer in the band Element of Crime, traces the schematic reflection of the world in the consciousness of his hero. There, the world likes to manifest itself in the form of a tremendous disturbance of the peace, a hindrance on the way to longed-for sleep, an annoyance to be avoided. It is a small world; Lehmann leaves only reluctantly the narrow precincts of Kreuzberg, and even the neighbouring district of Neukölln is a horror to him. His cosmos is populated by colleagues, bar owners and their guests, who are one in their tough determination to admit no changes and to retain the established rituals against all attacks from outside. [...] Yet the great upheaval is imminent and has already taken place behind the scenes at several levels, if unnoticed by Lehmann. [...] There can be no doubt that Regener has here presented us with a brilliant Wende novel from the Western point of view, which is so convincing precisely because the events in the GDR appear only as trace elements in the consciousness of the main character, from whose perspective the whole story is told. In order to depict the Western lack of interest, it seems that no milieu would have served better than Kreuzberg and no hero could have been better chosen than Mr Lehmann. This becomes all the more noticeable as the plot homes in on the ninth of November, 1989.

Sven Regener – Biography

Tilman Spreckelsen: „Verwirrt, träge und verliebt"
© Süddeutsche Zeitung, 11.08.2001