Ronja von Rönne thinks defiance has an image problem. That’s why she dedicated a book to him. A manifesto for life emerged. In the interview she talks about failure, Tinder and new goals.
Nobody can be as defiant as the writer Ronja von Rönne (31). Consequently, her new book is called “Despite”. The result is an essay that is very different from what the genre might suggest. Readers do not expect lengthy scientific work, but rather Rönne’s most personal work.
She examines not only her own defiance, but also that of others. And in the end there is the question: Should we be defiant or not?
“I definitely didn’t want to write another novel in the near future,” says the Berlin-based author in an interview with the German Press Agency. Writing a novel is for patient writers – not for them. Just last year she published her novel “End in Sight”, which tells the story of two women who wish to die. The book became an acclaimed bestseller.
Life crises and self-doubt
But now she wanted to write a small, inconspicuous book. That didn’t quite work out. On 112 pages, she tells of life crises and self-doubt – and of her best friend Martin, who, out of defiance, does not take his diabetes medication and therefore loses a leg.
The book is dedicated to him. “I don’t know if I could have written it if Martin had actually died,” said Ronja von Rönne. She told him that he had to stay alive until publication, she says and laughs. It’s phrases like this that her fans appreciate. Rönne finds humor in every gloom, sometimes biting, always pointed. The idiosyncratic characterizes them.
She wrote most of “Despite” in the last two weeks before delivery. With every book, she calls her editor and is about to cancel it. “Then they say I have to pay back the advance. And then I’ll write it anyway.”
Rönne became known as the cheekiest voice of her generation. She came onto the scene with her blog “Sudelheft”. She caused a stir with a controversial feminism column. She has since published three successful books and hosted a philosophy program on Arte.
Pop star of the German literary world
She is popular on talk shows. More than 100,000 people follow her on social networks. Ronja von Rönne is something like the pop star of the German literary world. “You’re still young in literature at 40. I find that very likeable,” says Rönne. But she doesn’t see herself as the mouthpiece of the younger generation. “Gen Z is young, I’m 31.”
In her new, entertaining work, she writes about events that she would have liked to have been over long ago. Make a clean sweep for once, she says. “If I experience so much bullshit, it should at least be good for something.” There is also talk of a controversial column that Ronja von Rönne wrote at the age of 23.
With “Why Feminism Disgusts Me” she polarized and provoked. A shitstorm broke out over Ronja von Rönne, she even needed police protection. “Today I see it as a strength that I maneuvered through it, that I didn’t stop writing and publishing,” she says in a forgiving manner. “The text is still a disaster, of course.”
depression and divorce
Ronja von Rönne’s strength is her openness. On Instagram, she spoke openly about her depression and celebrated her divorce. She thinks we should celebrate failure more. After all, it has already happened and somehow you have to keep going. “Nothing against a glass of champagne in between.”
In the meantime, she has a partner again – without any online dating. The problem: “People don’t believe it’s me,” she says. “Then I get messages all the time on Instagram that someone is stealing my pictures. Bitch, it’s me, I’m single!” Tinder feels too much like online shopping for her anyway. “Unless you just want to have sex, then Tinder comes in handy.”
Ronja von Rönne doesn’t mince words – and maybe soon in a new role. The 31-year-old wants to try her hand at acting. “All the actors are now writing books, so I can take their jobs away from them,” she says. She has had the desire to devote herself to acting for a long time.
But she also wants to keep writing. She has already signed the contract for her next book, maybe it will be called “Poison”. Before she turned 30, she wanted to publish three books. She did it. How to proceed? Clearly: “Four to 40, five to 50 and six to 60.”
– Ronja von Rönne, defiance, dtv, Munich 2023, 112 pages, 15.00 euros, ISBN: 978-3-423-28371-7.