33 Augenblicke des Glücks

by Ingo Schulze

Sankt Petersburg steht im Mittelpunkt dieser Aufzeichnungen, die eigentlich "Hoffmanns Erzählungen" heißen könnten, findet doch eine Reisende nach Petersburg die liegengelassene Mappe mit den Aufzeichnungen ihres zeitweiligen Mitreisenden Hoffmann. Sie schreibt dem Autor, er möge sich doch dieser Papiere annehmen und die Mappe publizieren: "Überarbeitet ergibt sie sicher eine recht kurzweilige Unterhaltung." Der nimmt die Herausgeberrolle an, weil diese Aufzeichnungen auch "die Möglichkeit in sich trügen, die anhaltende Diskussion um den Stellenwert des Glücks zu beleben." Durch diesen doppelten Rahmen steigt man ein in einen ganzen Kosmos aus komischen, grotesken, brutalen, tragischen und auch böse-finsteren Geschichten, entfaltet sich ein kaleidoskopartiges Panorama der Stadt an der Newa und ihrer Bewohner. Trinker und Huren, Arbeiter und Waffenhändler, alte tapfere Frauen aus den heroischen Tagen des Großen Vaterländischen Krieges tauchen genauso auf wie die Geschäftsleute der neuen Zeit, Mafi osi und ihre Handlanger. Mord und Totschlag sind genauso an der Tagesordnung wie zarte Bewegungen, Mitleid und Großmut. Auch vor Ekel und Entsetzen wird nicht Halt gemacht: Das alte Liebespaar Irina und Anatolij schlägt eine junge Waffenhändlerin auf grausige Weise tot; Florian Müller-Fritsch stinkt und stirbt. Doch das Hässliche alltäglichen Irrsinns und das Schöne guter Wünsche und sanfter Freundlichkeit, die Härte der Schläge und Schüsse wie das Weiche der Gefühlsregungen, wie sie die große Stadt in unendlicher Fülle bereithält, gehen im Reichtum dieser Erzählungen eine seltsam heitere, krause und unverwechselbare Mischung ein.

Genres: Short Stories, German Literature, Fiction, Russia

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Ingo Schulze is a German writer born in Dresden in former East Germany. He studied classical philology at the University of Jena for five years, and, until the German reunification, was an assistant director (dramatic arts advisor) at the State Theatre in Altenburg 45 km south of Leipzig for two years.

After oversleeping the events of the night of November 9 1989, Schultze started a newspaper with friends. He was encouraged to write. Schultze spent six months in St Petersburg which became the basis for his debut collection of short stories 33 Moments of Happiness (1995). He has lived in Berlin since the mid 1990s.

Schulze has won a number of awards for his novels and stories, which have been translated into twenty languages, among them into English by John E. Woods.

Reviews

[Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Tossing" this book, though that reads like more of a rejection than I really mean. I'm really dropping it in the Better World Books bin near where I live. It has no underlining!

After all, the front cover has an L.A. Times quote, "Fantastic and fantastical!" Who am I to say that these stories are not memorable? But in fact I suspect that the L.A. Times reviewer couldn't tell us a single thing about any of these stories, today. Still, as any decent book, it was not a waste of time to read.


[Original non-review]
I'm sure I enjoyed these stories, since I don't finish a book if I find it a drag. But after 10 years I can't remember a thing about them.



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[Nicholas Beck · Rating 2 out of 5]

33 Moments of Bleak really. The happiness is fleeting and buried deep in these tales of Russia post perestroika. Short vignettes of Soviet life amidst a harsh climate both personal and political, I struggled with these short stories and never really seemed able to connect to any of the characters. Apparently they are based on a myriad of Russian stories and there's a short glossary at the back which provides some helpful connections. Have to say that unless you have read a wide range of Soviet literature, you'll likely miss many of the allusions.

[Lawrence · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too overwhelmed by 33 moments of happiness frankly to give a damn. Perhaps there could have been far fewer moments to endure. While some of the stories were marginally interesting, many were just downright dull. It's an exercise in stylistics, references completely missed by me, and a largely tedious set of exercises at that. Done with Ingo Schulze, I am happy to say. He's had his chance to generate my interest and he's repeatedly failed. He just doesn't seem to have anything to say; that perhaps explains why he needs far too many pages to say it.

[Franziska · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope, i didn't enjoy it. It's a collection a very short episodes (not even stories?) but without a connection. I found it hard to follow.

[Meter]

i love this book.

[Pitichi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una noia mortale! Poteva essere un capolavoro, invece per me è stato uno strazio dall'inizio alla fine!

[Diana Carabadjac · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sau eu nu ma pot concentra asupra cartii sau cartea e despre nimic. Sunt momente in care nu inteleg legatura dintre propozitii.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

After charging in delight hrough the first ten or so stories, marveling at their freshness and gentle fantasy, I gave up on page 212, defeated by the repetition (33 stories is too much!) and the cloying replication of classic Russian prose styles. Defeated.

[will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Schulze has some very solid short stories in this collection, but others fall a little flat. The best are truly surprising and precise.

[Anna Bodzoń · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wzięłam z jakiejś wymianki, wiem już dlaczego ktoś to oddał (uczynię to samo przy najbliższej okazji). Nie mam pojęcia o czym jest to książka, nie mam pojęcia dlaczego tytuł ma jaki ma, nie wiem co to właściwie miało być. Jest w niej wszystko: od ludożerców, poprzez jakieś magiczne zdarzenia po jedzenie kurzych kup. Ale na końcu znajdują się odniesienia, że jakieś nawiązania do Puszkina, żywotów świętych, Chlebnikowa. Więc może to ja jestem niezbyt mądra 🤷‍♀️ Po raz kolejny przeklinam cechę „nieporzucania” książek 🤯

[IWB · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
I'm not literate enough in literature to recognize all the inside references, winks and nods, that Schulze injects into these stories; and this is after looking at the editorial notes in the back.

Some of the stories were interesting,if not bleak, while others I simply wasn't sure anything was happening beside author stylistics.

[Sukhdeep Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bright in some spots, drags in others.

[Garret Cook · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just did not like this

[Marko]

I have the original german edition: 33 Augenblicke