How long would it take for your typical 21st century middle-class man to completely lose his identity? Approximately 36 hours, according to Lukas Bärfuss's disturbing novel Hagard. On an early spring afternoon in an unnamed city (which strongly resembles Zurich), a successful real-estate broker name Philip in his late forties steps out onto the street while waiting for a client and spots a young woman exiting an office building. He can see her only from behind, but something about her attracts his attention and he begins to follow her. After all, he has time to kill before his meeting, and doesn't have to pick up his young son from his Mexican nanny Belinda. And so he begins to follow the woman through the city streets, losing track of time, never getting close enough to arouse her suspicion, and never catching a glimpse her face. At first Philip makes a pretense of keeping to his schedule - and his identity - by making excuses to his secretary Vera via voice mail messages. But as he follows the woman on the commuter train and stands outside her suburban apartment building as she retires for the evening, what started as a lark - a distraction from the boring routine of his life, perhaps with erotic intentions - gradually becomes an existential quest. And Philip is on auto-pilot as his former self begins to recede:
„ Er war dem Augenblick ausgesetzt, nur der zählte, er hatte keine Ahnung, was in der nächsten Sekunde geschehen würde, aber wer wusste, was auch immer passierte, er würde bereit sein. Er hatte einen sauren Geschmack im Mund, als würde ihn die Aufmerksamkeit langsam auffressen, aber auch das war in Ordnung. Er verbrauchte seine Energie und er verbrauchte sie schrankenlos, ohne Zurückhaltung, mit der totalen Präsenz. Nicht seine Absicht bestimmte das Geschehen, er brauchte keine Entscheidungen zu treffen. Das erleichterte ihn auf eine Weise. Er war da. Mehr brauchte er nicht zu tun, und er verstand, warum darin das Glück lag."
The suspense builds as Philip jettisons or loses the basics necessities of 21st century life: his wallet, credit cards, even his shoe, and finally his BMW. All the while the battery on his smartphone is draining to zero. He is cut off. In the background the narrator tries to make sense of Philips actions as he muses on the decline of civilization, alluding to disturbing current events such as the vanishing of the Malaysian airliner in the Pacific. At times one senses that the narrator is stalking Philip the same way Philip is stalking the unknown woman.
"Seit viel zu langer Zeit versuche ich, Philips Geschichte zu verstehen. [...] Ich will das Geheimnis lüften, das in ihr verborgen ist. […] Ich weiß alles, und ich begreife nichts. Ich kenne die Abfolge der Ereignisse. Ich weiß, wie die Geschichte anfängt, ich kenne den Tag und ich kenne den Ort: Es ist der Brezelstand vor dem Warenhaus beim Bellevue. Ich weiß, wann sie ihr Ende findet, nämlich sechsunddreißig Stunden später, am frühen Donnerstagmorgen des dreizehnten März auf einem Balkon irgendwo in der Vorstadt."
The first two-thirds of Hagard are completely focused on Philip and his self--destructive quest. Then suddenly Lukas Bärfuss shifts the narrative to the story of the Japanese mathematician who thought he had solved Fermat's Last Theorem, but couldn't prove it. And then the backstory of the petty-criminal turned taxi driver whose life intersects with Philip's in his last hours, as well as the story of Vera's sordid affair. It is not entirely clear to me what these Nebengeschichten - side stories - add to the narrative other than to interrupt or retard the suspense before the the final, tragic finale. But then again, there is much that I still don't understand - such as the title Hagard, which, as far as I could learn a French term for a bird of prey, such as a falcon. Hagard is a provocative novel (or novella - relatively short), brilliantly written, and I will no doubt reread at some point.
Lukas Bärfuss was awarded the prestigious Georg-Büchner-Preis for 2019.
See my review of his novel Hundert Tage.
Quelle: https://www.dieterwunderlich.de/Baerfuss-hagard.htm (c) Dieter Wunderlich
Quelle: https://www.dieterwunderlich.de/Baerfuss-hagard.htm (c) Dieter Wunderlich
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