literature
“Still awake?” – Stuckrad-Barre: No “romance of the clef”
“Still awake?” is the name of the new novel by Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre. photo
© Jens Kalaene/dpa
The media industry was almost bursting with curiosity – and writer Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre has been able to increase this over the past few days. Now his fictional work is on the market.
Bestselling author Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre published his eagerly awaited novel “Still awake?” on Wednesday. published. In a “Spiegel” interview, the 48-year-old protested in several places that it – as previously speculated in media reports – could be a roman a clef.
When asked by the interviewer whether he had written a roman a clef for the Axel Springer publishing house (“Bild”, “Welt”), the writer said: “Roman roman a clef? Absolutely not. What kind of unpleasant word is that, what’s the point does that even mean? When it comes to ‘romance of a clef’, everyone thinks of the wrong door.”
“Classic of SMS communication”
“Still awake?” is the name of the fictional work with 370 pages. Stuckrad-Barre is known for books like “Soloalbum” and “Panikherz”. The author said in the “Spiegel” interview: “‘Are you awake?’ “It’s a classic of SMS communication. Almost everyone who has been out and about in the nightlife for a while has already written it themselves or received a message like this – just better not in the context of a professional relationship.”
The book begins by emphasizing that it is “in part inspired by various real events”. The novel is “however, a detached and independent fictional story”. The author “created a completely independent new work”.
Days before the publication, Stuckrad-Barre had attracted attention with a PR campaign: numerous celebrities, including actors, musicians and journalists from ARD, spoke the headlines of the 18 chapters, which were sent bit by bit to the reached the public. They are called, for example, “Then women don’t have to be surprised”, “Men of the West”, “Now it’s getting dirty” or “An open secret”.
Inquiries to the publishing house Kiepenheuer& Witsch to be able to read the book in advance came to nothing. The novel was available in bookstores on Wednesday. In a Berlin train station bookshop, only one copy was given out at the checkout early in the morning, with reference to the limited number. The “Spiegel” published the entire first chapter of the novel online in the morning, along with the interview with the author.
In the first chapter, an emerging relationship of trust between a trainee and the editor-in-chief of a TV station is described. The author sketches how the young woman feels flattered by the approval and attention of her boss. They eat lunch together in his office and then make an appointment for the evening, they say.
In one of the earlier chapters, a friend (they are “practically brothers”) of the narrator, who owns a television station, also appears. While driving in the western United States, the narrator in the car reports to this friend about news that he considers problematic. The station’s editor-in-chief sent these messages to a younger employee. The first-person narrator clearly expresses his aversion to the editor-in-chief.
The 48-year-old Stuckrad-Barre wants to present his work in the evening (8 p.m.) in the Berliner Ensemble Theater.
“Morality painting of our time”
The book publisher Kiepenheuer & Witsch had announced that it was a “moral painting of our time”. The novel tells of “power structures and abuse of power, courage and human abysses”. Among other things, he plays in the media industry and also covers the #MeToo movement.
Stuckrad-Barre also gave an interview to the public broadcaster ZDF in advance, the broadcaster wants to present the conversation in the evening in its main news “heute journal”. The broadcaster quoted the writer in advance: “Let’s say: a boss and a trainee fall in love at work, wonderful story. It started on the fax machine and today nobody can separate them. Yes, that happens. But it’s for both equally easy to end this relationship? The answer is clear. And there is abuse of power.”
Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre, Still awake?, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 384 pages, ISBN: 978-3-462-00467-0