Schweigeminute by Siegfried Lenz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
About a week ago my computer crashed; blue screen, sad-face emoji and everything (apparently Microsoft added a sad-face emoji to soften the blow or whatever).
Once my little laptop regained consciousness, I had the great idea to start a new bookmark folder containing links to German TV channels.
Recently I have been on a German TV and book trip again, after I realized that I have neglected those language skills long enough and a friend asked me to practice her German with me.
It would only be fair to brush up to make sure that what I told her was correct and lately I have been feeling less than confident in my skill.
So, one thing led to another and I stumbled upon an older article that one of the German TV channels posted. It was a list of 100 books, 100 Good Reads in German Literature that were translated into English.
Alright, I was intrigued. I could do with a little German literature and this list was chronological, starting in 1901 and ending in 2016. A perfect tour through German history seen through the eyes of its literature.
Long story short, I picked the books that interested me the most and began my literary journey, starting with Schweigeminute.
I have to confess I’m always a bit hesitant reading any German book. I’m not sure where this stems from, but it takes me a good minute to get over it.
Despite my unrealistic reservations I got sucked into the story straight away.
It was an interesting read, since the reader only gets to know the unfolding of events through the protagonist’s reflections.
The protagonist, an 18-year-old senior high school student, brought a sense of wonderment to the story.
He was naïve, self-centred and has no idea what he got himself into.
The plot was straight forward: boy meets his senior English teacher. Boy falls head over heels for said teacher.
It was the narration and the structure of the story that gave it a unique take on the otherwise rather simple narration.
For one, there were no chapters. The narration began and ended as one long stream of consciousness. I’ve read a few other books like that before and they would always irk me in ways that threw me out of the story. It bothers me to no end, but not with this one. It wasn’t until I was a good 30% into the book when I realized that I have not seen any break in the story telling.
Secondly, the narration jumps very quickly between three different time periods; during the time the narrator reflects, his time with his teacher, and the time leading up to the present.
The setting lent the entire narration an atmosphere and a mood that reflected the uncertainty of life. It was poetic and beautiful and sad all at the same time. It worked wonderfully.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It kept me spellbound until the last page. The only thing that was difficult were the time jumps that came unannounced and very suddenly, which interrupted the flow of the story.
I would still recommend it to anyone, who enjoys German literature, stories similar to Der Vorleser/The Reader, Baltic Sea settings and atmospheric narrations.
