Finally got around to reading Ingo Schulze's latest novel Die rechtschaffenen Mörder ("The Righteous Murderers") which was published earlier this year. Schulze can be counted on to provide an enlightened east German perspective on the world. I enjoyed his 1998 story collection about Die Wende - Simple Storys. Ein Roman aus der ostdeutschen Provinz ( see my review) - even if it was something of a Raymond Carver knock-off. Now we are 30 years into the Wiedervereinigung (reunification) and I was eager to get his take on what has changed - for better or worse.
The most interesting aspect of Die rechtschaffenen Mörder is the narrative structure. The novel is divided into three separate parts. The first part tells the story of the rare bookseller Norbert Paulini. This is told in the first-person narration with an unidentified, unobstrusive narrator which ends abruptly in mid-sentenc after 38 short chapters. The second part is a long run-on, first-person reflection on Paulini by the writer "Schultze" (not Ingo Schulze). The third and final section is a description of the tragic deaths of Paulini and his partner Lisa by Schultze's editor in Berlin, and speculation about who or what caused the deaths. Here we learn that the narrator in the first part was, in fact, Schultze.
Despite the shifting narrative perspective the focus of the novel is on the bookseller Norbert Paulini - an interesting figure to be sure. Paulini was born and raised in Dresden, and we watch his evolution as a first-class collector of books. He not only collects, he actually reads the books and develops an encyclopedic knowledge of literature and publishing history. Selling the books - the business of a bookstore - was always secondary to Paulini. More important was finding a buyer "worthy" enough to provide a new home for his precious inventory. Paulini's reputation as an Aficionado of literature and books began to attract notice throughout the DDR - East Germany, and he had some modest success with the business in spite of himself:
Manch einer empfahl ihn weiter, weil man sich von seinem Besuch das versprach, was man „die Begegnung mit einem Original“ nannte. Von diesem Mann, der allein für die Bücher lebte, vielleicht weltfremd und anspruchslos, aber belesen wie kein zweiter, ließ sich stets gut erzählen.
His bookstore becomes something of a salon for writers and intellectuals, who organize readings and lectures - even about topics that might catch the attention of the Stasi. Paulini becomes a mentor to young writers - including the teenage Schultze -, recommending books that influence their early attempts to write.
Life was good - but then came Die Wende - the collapse of the DDR. Virtually overnight his business dries up - his inventory of poorly produced east German and Soviet books can't compete with much higher quality in the West. Then the Internet makes physical bookstores redundant. The floods of 2002 along the Elbe destroy a good bit of his beloved inventory. His marriage collapse after it becomes known that his wife was a Stasi informant all along. Paulini is forced to accept menial jobs to support himself and his young son. In his bitterness he drifts into a right-wing extremist, anti-immigrant mindset.
I have to say I didn't find the devolution of Norbert Paulini from unworldly (weltfremd) lover of great books to far-right Pegida follower entirely convincing. I enjoyed the first half of Die rechtschaffenen Mörder far more than the second, especially the convoluted whodunnit? third part. If it was Ingo Schulze's intention to explain the motivation for the rise of right-wing extremism - the rise of the AfD political party - in eastern Germany he didn't quite succeed. Nevertheless, Schulze is a major talent and his books deserve attention.
Die rechtschaffenen Mörder was nominated for (but didn't win) the 2020 Leipziger Buchpreis.
Quelle: https://www.dieterwunderlich.de/schulze-rechtschaffenen-moerder (c) Dieter Wunderlich
Quelle: https://www.dieterwunderlich.de/schulze-rechtschaffenen-moerder (c) Dieter Wunderlich
Quelle: https://www.dieterwunderlich.de/schulze-rechtschaffenen-moerder (c) Dieter Wunderlich
Quelle: https://www.dieterwunderlich.de/schulze-rechtschaffenen-moerder (c) Dieter Wunderlich
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