Book presentation
Die Welt im Rücken

Author: Thomas Melle
Publishing house in Vietnam: NXB Trẻ
Descriptions of his own tearing: Thomas Melle gives an insight into his life with a manic-depression
The translator Lê Quang will present the book.

Fri, 24.05.2019
7:00 PM Cà phê thứ bảy trẻ (Ho Chi Minh City)

How does it feel when you can never be sure of your own personality? And you cannot rely on anything you've trusted yet? Thomas Melles "Die Welt im Rücken" provides an insight into such a life. He suffers from bipolar disorder, a disease in which high-altitude flights and deep depressive episodes are close to each other. Having slept with Madonna or met Picasso in Berghain is just as much a part of Melle's life as years of staying in nothingness. In his novel, he seeks for origins and causes of his illness, in full awareness, never to be able to grasp them completely. Melle does not spare or embellish, thus highlighting the radical nature of his bipolar disorder. His sober descriptions give the reader an immediate insight into the author's life. An autobiographical work with tragic and bizarre stories.
 
The translation of "The World in the Back" was part of a social translating project funded by Merck. Ten translators from Asia met online with the author to exchange ideas and clarify details with the author. Lê Quang translated the novel into Vietnamese. He translated among others Bernhard Schlink's "Der Vorleser", Daniel Kehlmann's "Die Vermessung der Welt" and Daniel Glattauer's "Gut gegen Nordwind".

Thomas Melle (* 1975) lives in Berlin and Vienna. He studied comparative literature and philosophy in Tübingen, Austin (Texas) and Berlin. At times he translated and wrote plays. His debut novel "Sickster" won the Franz Hessel Prize. The novel "3000 Euro" earned Melle 2015 the Berlin Art Prize. For "Die Welt im Rücken" he was awarded the Klopstock Prize.

© Rowohlt-Verlag

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