“Gone, finito, The End, I say. A father who puts an end to it all before he wears down the whole family deserves more praise than damnation.” Two sisters travel to Sofia—in a convoy of luxury limousines arranged by a fellow Bulgarian exile—to bury their less-than-beloved father. Like tourists, they are chauffeured by the ever-charming Ruben Apostoloff—one sister in the back seat, one in the passenger seat, one sharp-tongued and aggressive, the other polite and considerate. In a caustic voice, Apostoloff shows them the treasures of his beloved country: the peacock-eye pottery (which contains poisonous dye), the Black Sea coast (which is utterly destroyed), the architecture (a twentieth-century crime). His attempts to win them over seem doomed to fail, as the sisters’ Bulgarian heritage is a heavy burden—their father, a successful doctor and melancholy immigrant, appears in their dreams still dragging the rope with which he hanged himself. An account of a daughter’s bitterly funny reckoning with her father and his country, laden with linguistic wit and black humor, Apostoloff will introduce the unique voice of Sibylle Lewitscharoff to a new and eager audience.

Apostoloff (The German List)

Literature & Fiction

Lewitscharoff, Sibylle

Literary

Seagull Books

Blumenberg (The German List)

One night, German philosopher Hans Blumenberg returns to his study to find a shocking sight—a lion lying on the floor as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. The lion stretches comfortably on the Turkmen rug, eyes resting on Blumenberg. The philosopher with some effort retains his composure, even when the next day during his lecture the lion makes another appearance, ambling slowly down the center aisle. Blumenberg glances around; the seats are full, but none of his students seem to see the lion. What is going on here? Blumenberg is the captivating and witty fictional tale of this likable philosopher and the handful of students who come under the spell of the supernatural lion—including skinny Gerhard Optatus Baur, a promising young Blumenbergian, and the delicate, haughty Isa, who falls head over heels in love with the wrong man. Written by Sibylle Lewitscharoff, whom Die Welt called the “most dazzling stylist of contemporary German literature,” Blumenberg will delight English readers.

<div> &nbsp;"Gone, finito, The End, I say. A father who puts an end to it all before he wears down the whole family deserves more praise than damnation." Two sisters travel to Sofia--in a convoy of luxury limousines arranged by a fellow Bulgarian exile--to bury their less-than-beloved father. Like tourists, they are chauffeured by the ever-charming Ruben Apostoloff--one sister in the back seat, one in the passenger seat, one sharp-tongued and aggressive, the other polite and considerate. In a caustic voice, Apostoloff shows them the treasures of his beloved country: the peacock-eye pottery (which contains poisonous dye), the Black Sea coast (which is utterly destroyed), the architecture (a twentieth-century crime). His attempts to win them over seem doomed to fail, as the sisters' Bulgarian heritage is a heavy burden--their father, a successful doctor and melancholy immigrant, appears in their dreams still dragging the rope with which he hanged himself. An account of a daughter's bitterly funny reckoning with her father and his country, laden with linguistic wit and black humor, Apostoloff will introduce the unique voice of Sibylle Lewitscharoff to a new and eager audience.</div>

<div>Now in paperback, from one of the most dazzling authors of contemporary German literature comes this delightful tale of a philosopher and his encounter with a supernatural lion. One night, German philosopher Hans Blumenberg returns to his study to find a shocking sight--a lion lying on the floor as if it's the most natural thing in the world. The lion stretches comfortably on the Turkmen rug, eyes resting on Blumenberg. The philosopher with some effort retains his composure, even when the next day during his lecture the lion makes another appearance, ambling slowly down the center aisle. Blumenberg glances around; the seats are full, but none of his students seem to see the lion. What is going on here? Blumenberg is the captivating and witty fictional tale of this likable philosopher and the handful of students who come under the spell of the supernatural lion--including skinny Gerhard Optatus Baur, a promising young Blumenbergian, and the delicate, haughty Isa, who falls head over heels in love with the wrong man. Written by Sibylle Lewitscharoff, whom Die Welt called the "most dazzling stylist of contemporary German literature," Blumenberg will delight English readers.</div>

English summary: Sibylle Lewitscharoff offers a novel inspired by and written around the philosopher Hans Blumenberg. Following the lives of four adolescents who attend classes with Blumenberg in the 1980s, Lewitscharoff traces the effects of his thoughts and ideas on the choices they make and the paths they take over the course of their lifetimes.  French description: Grande admiratrice du philosophe, Sibylle Lewitscharoff, dans ce roman qui multiplie les allusions à Lions, évoque surtout le penseur dans son cabinet de travail. On pourrait parler en l'occurrence de portrait moral d'un saint moderne qui, tel saint Jérôme (la comparaison est explicite), a voué son existence à l'étude dans la solitude de sa retraite. Dans le roman, la métaphore devient réalité, le lion de la légende de Jérôme se concrétise dans son bureau, devient donc « présent » mais tout en restant, comme la réalité, impossible à atteindre.  Les 5 chapitres intitulés « Le lion » (numérotés de I à V) constituent, avec les chapitres « Coca-cola » et « Égypte », une biographie intellectuelle de Blumenberg et un bel hommage à un maître vénéré. Parallèlement à ce portrait, dans des chapitres qui en sont presque indépendants, l'auteur a voulu construire une sorte de conte philosophique et moral, à propos du rapport d'un individu avec un maître (illustré par 5 exemples).  Dans la petite ville de M|nster, dans les années 80, quatre étudiants suivent les cours brillants - décisifs pour le destin de chacun d'eux - du célèbre philosophe. Le premier (et le seul des quatre à avoir un bref entretien avec le professeur), Gerhard (chap. Optatus, Dimanche, L'ange annoncé et Heilbronn), studieux et brillant, deviendra lui-même professeur de philosophie. Sa petite amie, Isa, inquiète et passablement exaltée, est tourmentée en secret par une passion morbide pour le maître, ce qui la conduira au suicide (chap. Optatus, Dimanche et Nº 255431800). Leur ami, Richard, rêve du maître comme d'un sauveur et, déçu, va poursuivre en Amazonie son rêve infantile de salut (un récit d'une sombre beauté, en 3 chapitres consécutifs, Richard, etc.). Hansi, quant à lui, transforme en délire l'enseignement du maître et s'enfonce lentement dans la folie (chap. Hansi et Addenda). Un cinquième personnage au caractère bien trempé, la religieuse Mehliss (chap. Souci universel), reconnaît aussi la supériorité de Blumenberg, mais intuitivement (elle est la seule à voir le lion), sans rien savoir du philosophe. Tout le roman tient dans le récit de l'existence de ces différents personnages (aux destins contrastés mais indépendants, obéissant uniquement à une logique interne à chaque personnage) depuis le jour de leur rencontre avec le philosophe jusqu'à leur mort... et même encore plus loin, dans un au-delà explicitement inspiré de Beckett où le dernier chapitre les réunit tous, en compagnie de Blumenberg.  Né en avril 1954, Sibylle Lewitscharoff est l'auteur d'une oeuvre riche et reconnue en Allemagne. Ce titre, pour lequel il lui a été décerné plusieurs prix est le son premier ouvrage à être traduit en français.

Blumenberg (L'Exception) (French Edition)

Genre Fiction

Les Belles Lettres

Das Pfingstwunder (German Edition)

Contemporary

Suhrkamp Verlag Gmbh

Blumenberg (German Edition)

Suhrkamp Verlag

Pong (German Edition)

Berlin Verlag

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lewitscharoff, Sibylle. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Lewitscharoff, Sibylle

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lewitscharoff, Sibylle. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Apostoloff (The German List)

Blumenberg (The German List)

Apostoloff (The German List)

Blumenberg (The German List)

Blumenberg (L'Exception) (French Edition)

Das Pfingstwunder (German Edition)

Blumenberg (German Edition)

Pong (German Edition)