Was Dunkelheit war

by Inka Parei

Close to death, an old man collapses and struggles to his bed. The sounds of the endless night unsettle him, triggering images, questions, and memories. In What Darkness Was, Inka Parei, author of The Shadow-Boxing Woman, allows the reader to inhabit a singular German mind. Precise and observant—but uncomprehending and on the brink of hysteria—the old man wracks his brain as the questions flow like why did he inherit the building he now lives in? Why did he leave the city that was his home for so long? Is he even here voluntarily? And who was that suspicious stranger on the stairs? Lying in bed, the old man is aware that these questions may be the last puzzles he ever solves.Combining tight prose with a compulsive delight in detail, Parei’s second novel in English presents a dynamic portrait of the West German soul from World War II through the German Autumn of 1977.

Genres: Fiction, Germany, German Literature

168 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Inka Parei (born 1967 in Frankfurt) is a German writer who lives in Berlin. She studied sociology, political science, sinology and German studies. Parei won the 2003 Ingeborg Bachmann Prize for excerpts from her book Was Dunkelheit war.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Mayk Can Şişman · Rating 2 out of 5]

bir süredir arıyordum bu kitabı ve sonunda standart bir insanın ödeyebileceği rakama denk gelince hemen kaptım ve okumaya başladım. tabii biraz hayal kırıklığıyla bitirdim. aslında yazarın okuyucuyu metne hapsetme gücünü sevsem de biraz fazla gel’li git’li oluşu, odak noktasından çok kere sapması bir noktadan sonra ‘ben şu anda tam olarak ne okuyorum’ hissini veriyor ve doğal olarak bu da okuma zevkinden götürüyor. son yirmi sayfayı merak etmiyorum ama en azından sonlara yaklaşmam bile başarı tabii. çok daha bambaşkasını beklerdim, hayal kırıklığı puanıyla iki yıldız olsun benden.

[R-K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Inka Parei has written a book about death: death that is approaching us; death that hangs over us in our memories; and death that is haunting the world we live in. Inspired by the events associated with the Baader-Meinhof in Germany in September and October, 1977, Parei has dredged her own childhood memory to create the background of this poignant story of a German World War II veteran who awaits the end of his own life while his memory evoke events on the Russian front.

The greater part of the story takes place in the main character’s mind as he explores the world around him, failing to realize any understanding of this world or his place in it. Not a story to be taken lightly.

[belisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

çok farazi bir anlatıydı, sağlam iplerle belli bir sürekliliğe bağlanmadığında farazi anlatımları izlemek çok zor, bachmann ödülünü almış olmasaydı muhtemelen hiç bitmezdi, sonuna doğru biraz açıldı...

[Martyna Guzińska · Rating 1 out of 5]

????

[Susan Oleksiw · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this tight, short book, a nameless old man struggles to comprehend his present life in a small room in a house he inherited from someone he barely knew and the seemingly random events he views outside his window in the courtyard below and the buildings opposite. Reaching the end of his life, he is haunted by questions and memories of World War II, startled by images of his years of military service that are ugly and random. His shadowy awareness of circumstances around him propels him to search a cellar, where he collapses, at the end of his confused days.

The translator provides a thorough description of the setting and time, 1977, which would have been easily recognizable to German readers as the period known as the German Autumn, and its participants, including the Baader-Meinhof group, who kidnapped and killed a civilian. The narrator struggles with the uncomfortable questions about WW2 that most Germans still didn't want to face though they refused to fade.

The English translation is noteworthy in its grace and ability to convey a shimmering reality.

[Şennur Öksüz · Rating 2 out of 5]

ben de kardeşime katılıyorum

[Marlene · Rating 1 out of 5]

schlecht

[Şenol · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 yıldızı zor hakeder ama emeğe saygım sonsuz