What do Goethe’s sorcerer’s apprentice and the protagonist from Gregor Wolf’s new release “Etzel Zauderkern and the Power of Desires” have in common? First, the profession, second, the use of rhyming spells, and third, that the end result of the intended spell is often very different than expected or hoped for.
Which puts you right in the middle of the second fantasy novel for children from the age of ten by the father of Stetten, who, however, prefers the term “adventure fairy tale”. 280 captivating pages are about a young magician in training, whose cloak is not just a bit too big. Even the task in which he unexpectedly finds himself is not really for a beginner, which is why Etzel stumbles from one calamity to the next.
Its creator Gregor Wolf is completely different. His fantastically poetic debut “The adventurous journey of Leopold Morsch”, published in 2019, was not only a complete success with readers of all ages and critics due to its literary and technical quality, but also brought the (still) part-time writer further publishing contracts – he is currently writing to book number three.
Best Writing School: The Pen and Paper RPG
The qualified archaeologist found and still finds inspiration primarily in a hobby he has pursued since he was a student and still does today: pen-and-paper role-playing games. Its most essential element: the events of the healers and scoundrels, knights, rescuers and robbers, kings and friars develop solely through verbal descriptions. With a chuckle, Wolf says: “This slight transfiguration of the Middle Ages is just fun. You can build a black and white frame much more clearly and at the same time work out shades of gray.”
Because of course there are plenty of them when Etzel travels alone to the distant capital to deliver medicine to the terminally ill queen. He is neither used to dealing with the people outside the castle walls, nor does he know anything about political intrigues. The fact that three murderous boys are hot on his heels doesn’t make things any easier.
Second protagonist is a prospective “squire”
Luckily, the sympathetic but unworldly youth soon receives support. From a girl, a (as easily recognizable by the pot cut) “Knappin”. At least Gisa von Sturm would like to be that first and later a knight. “She wants to exercise her right to do what men do,” explains the author, explaining the heroine’s motivation. However, this is not intended for women and is even punishable. This gives the novel a second level of tension, but above all a strong identification figure who can do everything that Etzel can’t really do: ride, swim, fight, sneak up on, read the weather.
Gisa is also knowledgeable about the country’s topography, which is extremely helpful when traveling. “Both in the first and in the second book there are many real landscapes and places that I have seen or visited; from Scotland to North Africa, from Sagres to Kraków”, explains the author the attention to detail of his descriptions, which leads to the fact that you can almost see and hear the “little gurgling brook glittering golden brown in the sun” inspired by the River Findhorn between Inverness and Aberdeen. It is no different with the forest, whose dense canopy of leaves protects travelers from the rain.
After a talking tree was even one of the main characters in “Morsch”, the forest with all its dangers but also all its beauty plays a not inconsiderable role here as well. Wolf, who was born in Munich and likes to sit in cafés and drift through the city, describes the reason for his fascination as follows: “The uncultivated, real forest with its wonderful greenery reflects life throughout the year and offers a motif where you can play a lot with noises and smells.”
When Gregor Wolf lets his sonorous voice ring out at readings, he immediately casts a spell over listeners of all ages.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
Anyone who has experienced a school reading by the 45-year-old knows how skilfully the resulting images, which one can smell, feel, taste and hear, captivate the listener. In no time at all, even the most bored seventh grader will be captivated by his mellifluous voice, which gives each character their own personality. Wolf confidently involves the children and strikes up a conversation with them. Does he owe this skillful handling of the audience to years of role-playing or his experience as a father of three? One does not know.
However, what is a direct consequence of a naturally turbulent everyday life in which two adults have to balance job and family: Wolf’s ability to write anytime and anywhere. Whether on the train, at the kitchen table, on the couch, “if necessary, even if the television is on at the same time”.
The medicinal herbs mentioned in the book all really exist
Of course, he doesn’t use his program when it comes to finding names for people and places. “First comes the inspiration: sounds are very important to me, the sound has to work when reading aloud. I also like descriptive names like Herzog Helm, Etzel Zauderkern, the city of Nahfern.” At times, Wolf also rearranges words from Eastern and Northern European languages. Or he sees the scene in his mind’s eye and the appropriate names – such as “Fildisbert” for a dozing guard – come to mind almost automatically, because that’s what someone in the Middle Ages could have been called.
What the Egyptologist, who has a doctorate, did not come up with are the medicinal plants that appear in the book. “They all really exist, but I took the old names because they sound better.” Alfblut corresponds to St. John’s wort, is good against swelling, bruises, irritation and supports wound healing. However, the author would not go so far as to suggest that the story’s recipes were based on knowledge of natural medicine. “I mixed things that sound good and have a magical character.”
However, Wolf does have a certain affinity with the topic: he works full-time in the field of medical knowledge transfer. It is precisely this bread and butter job that offers Wolf the opportunity to work at his own pace and to let his texts mature. For him, this means, for example, that he has to have revised his own rough version three times before the manuscript goes to the publisher. “I don’t want to give up until I’ve reached the moment where I can only change it, but not improve it.”
This also applies to the rhymes that Etzel uses for his magic spells. It is not always easy for the book character to find something suitable – how did the author fare while writing? “Exactly like that,” he says. “Sometimes you sit there and despair. The whole thing has to have a rhythm; it’s only a real rhyme when you can sing it or rap it.” The amateur musician attributes the fact that it finally worked everywhere to his sense of rhythm. Wolf has been playing the guitar and writing his own songs since he was a teenager.
But that probably doesn’t represent another career option, as Gregor Wolf is already working on a new fantasy novel. A forest and a boy and a girl appear in it again, the author does not want to reveal more. It is definitely not a sequel to “Etzel Zauderkern” – although its end remains open. Is the author thinking of a sequel? “I do. I don’t know whether the publisher will do it,” says Wolf and laughs.
Gregor Wolf: “Etzel Procrastinator”. Ueberreuter HC, Berlin 2022. 280 pages, 16 euros.