ABYSSES: Insights, Outbursts, Thoughts

This is a selection of essays from Wolfgang Sofsky’s blog Caprichos published in 2015. It follows directly on the 2014 selection »Lichte Finsternis« and looks at subjects ranging from terrorism to religion, and from power to literature and music. The central theme are the abysses in the human condition.

LIGHT DARKNESS: Portraits, Analyses, Masquerades

The topics in this selection of entries from Wolfgang Sofsky’s blog range from analyses of current affairs to fictitious dialogues in the back-rooms of politics, and from portraits and obituaries to concise meditations on art, music and literature.

The short pieces are more than just diary notations. The sociologist comments on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the culture critic keeps our varied heritage alive, and the anthropologist investigates the behaviour of the species.

The blog entries (all dating from 2014) form a treasure trove of ideas and findings, where serious appreciations stand next to vitriolic diatribes. At the end, Sofsky always returns to the lasting works of art, to Shakespeare, Fussli, Chopin, Kafka, or Beckett.

WEISENFELS

A man visits a childhood friend in his castle. They haven’t spoken with each other in years. He finds the house radically changed. Countless faces inhabit the rooms, gods and angels, masks and figures keep the two men company. During the 19 hour visit, while they eat and drink and smoke, they talk about life and beauty and death. These conversations are so intimate that they read like monologues, soliloquies and phantasies of the lonesome visitor. The area is nearly deserted, the park overgrown and the old fort barely more than a derelict place of memory.

WEISENFELS takes the reader to a place far removed from actuality. But history of art and culture, of seeing and thinking is just as present as the future in this place stripped of contemporaries.

After his prose volume “Einzelgänger”, Wolfgang Sofsky now presents a work that artfully combines fiction, reflection and art appreciation.

»If you immerse yourself in this book with its artful language, its decelerated pace, Sofsky’s attention to detail and his radical thinking, will not be satisifed with a single reading.« (Carsten Hueck, Deutschlandradio Kultur)

LONERS

LONERS opens up a magic cabinet of mesmerizing characters. Hermit, prophet, king or jester, traitor, gambler, arist, drunk, they are alone, lonely, left behind and lost to the world. Wolfgang Sofsky tells of people outside society, outcast, lost, deceived, confused or enlightened.

Sofsky’s prose debut not only presents a collection of curios, it is also a stylistic jewel, intense and of raw elegance, full of references and symbols. He reminds the reader of pictures, motifs or characters in various arts, who gain a meaning entirely their own in Sofsky’s tales. Some resemble meditations, that for a moment coalesce into action, others resemble parables or small dramas with a tragic ending.

WAYS OF DYING

Images of violence can frighten or enchant, unsettle or delight, their ambiguous effect due, in parts, to the viewer’s distance to the depicted. They confront us with the question of who we are, and allow sensory perception, meditative contemplation and intellectual cognition

Wolfgang Sofsky meticulously interprets works of art that depict violence and ways of dying. In brilliant essays he penetrates their aesthetic appeal and imaginative power. He creates a panoramic view of murder and manslaughter, battle and war, punishment and sacrifice that opens up new ways of seeing. From the earliest expressions of art in the cave drawings of Lascaux to paintings of Christian martyrs and right to modern war photography, Sofsky shows Western history of art as an iconography of violence.

“a masterpiece” (Lorenz Jäger, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
“highly recommended” (Patrick Kilian, Ikonen Magazine)
“intelligent and original” (Franziska Augstein, Süddeutsche Zeitung)

THE BOOK OF VICES

The project of moral improvement of our species has largely failed. All endeavours to create humane conditions are fruitless as long as we don’t understand why people wrong each other and make evil part of their character. He who intends to speak of goodness therefore cannot omit speaking of evil and he who intends to speak of evil must study all those common errors, failures and vices that precede true evil. Wolfgang Sofsky turns his unflinching eye on human nature and the entire range of immoral behaviour: indifference, cowardice and self-pity, avarice and envy, folly and guile, pride and servility, injustice and cruelty. He describes in detail the effects of their dynamics on our soul and their significance for the individual, for society and politics. With laconic intensity  this essay sheds light on the dark sides of human nature.

PRIVACY: A Manifesto

Sofsky turns his anti-etatistic eye towards the various aspects of privacy (such as: private property, intimacy, private spheres, inviolability of the body, data protection etc.) and the constant threats to privacy (from market forces, the state, society, ourselves). This is provocative because he does not relativise his definitions and observations, nor provide any reasons or explanations or recommendations how to protect privacy better. Privacy, for Sofsky, is the one non-negotiable absolute value. You can’t NOT agree with his observations, though you feel an urge to cry out and contradict. This reduced and radical form makes for provocative reading  – which is why Sofsky calls the book a “Streitschrift” (pamphlet)  – but it also inspires readers to think for themselves. In times of surveillance cameras, bonus customer cards, realitiy tv shows and internet blogs, this can be a painful process, but it’s important and very timely.

RED STAR OVER CHINA

(1938, 1968)

JOURNEY TO THE BEGINNING

(1958)

THE LONG REVOLUTION

(1972)

HE WEISZHEIT HOUSE
Novel of a Century

Like the history of Berlin in the 20th century, this is a layered, multi-voiced, sometimes brutal and disturbing story of a family and the house they lived in.

In 2011 Sven Gabbert inherits an apartment building in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg district, built in 1900, with 30 apartments: The Weiszheithaus. The attic houses a bizarre archive full of the published works by famous GDR author Kurt Weiszheit, his diaries, manuscripts and letters, but also photos, official documents and other remnants of the residents. Wheelchair-bound after an accident, Sven resorts to the exploration of the house’s history. The supposedly rich body of source material soon turns into a maelstrom, in which fragments of Kurt Weiszheit’s writings, kaleidoscope like, tell different versions of his Weiszheit stories, often contradicted by the letters, diaries, patient charts, advertising signs, tenant ledgers, notes and other material. Which version of the story is true? What is made up?

www.weiszheit.de

KARLA’S ATTEMPT TO SAVE THE WORLD

Karla, an unemployed sociologist with a Ph.D., is pawning her valuable library in order to survive. In her desperation she applies for the job of housekeeper in the home of Jost Sattler, an MP in the Federal Parliament in Berlin, looking after his teenage kids, his demented father, and not least Sattler himself, who mourns the loss of his wife to cancer a few months before. While there Karla hacks into Sattler’s computer in order to undermine the implementation of security measures in the name of “the war on terror” – while at the same time lodging a refugee from Palestine who attracts the attention of the intelligence services. The impending visit of the US president brings matters to a head…

A tale of our times, told with Holger Siemann’s trademark wit and warmth.

WORKING AND STRIVING

Holger Siemann’s first novel tells the story of three generations of the Schöne family, of their loves and dreams and tragedies. When their emotions clash with reality, the result can be sad or funny or both at the same time.

The Schönes are renovating the family mansion – once expropriated under the communist regime in the GDR – in order for the three generations to live under one roof again. The family business, Schöne Plastik, has finally left the economical doldrums behind, which is reason enough to plan a big ball for family, friends and the town’s dignitaries in the renovated villa.

The party is occasion to take a step back and ponder where life has taken the family members. On close inspection, cracks begin to show under the surface…

THE LONG SHADOW OF THE PAST
Descendants Face Their Nazi Family History

During numerous events for her previous book »Schweigen tut weh« (Silence Hurts), Alexandra Senfft witnessed how children and grandchildren of Nazi perpetrators break their silence: Her conversations reveal long-kept family secrets with painful emotional effects. In this book, for the first time, the silence within the families is related to other traumas that were passed on through generations. Building on research on transgenerational transmission, she illustrates in 9 moving portraits how silence became a burden. The very personal point of view helps to break the ritualised patterns of narration, reveal identification with the perpetrators and point out ambivalences. Most protagonists have come to terms with their family past and are taking an active stance against Xenophia and radical right wing. The portraits do not deal with perpetrators from the first row but with blind followers and war profiteers who, after the war, were caring mothers and fathers – but have never been held to account and could settle in their silence.

SILENCE HURTS
A German Family History

SA officer Hanns Ludin was Hitler’s envoy in Slovakia and thus responsible for the deportation of Jews. In 1947 he was executed as a war criminal. Torn between guilt and loyalty, his descendants still fight about his role in the second World War. Alexandra Senfft writes with empathy and courage how her beloved grandmother cultivated the legend of the »good Nazi«, and how her children and grandchildren blocked out his true role. At the centre of the book is the life of Alexandra’s mother, an extraordinary woman in the post-war leftwing establishment in Hamburg. On the surface, her life shattered under the influence of depression and addiction, in reality she failed to mourn for her father. The author also tells of her own life and her difficult love for her mother, whom she only really understood after her death. Schweigen tut weh was awarded the German Biography Prize in 2008.

UNKNOWN ENEMY, SO CLOSE
Encounters with Palaestinians and Israelis

with photographs by Judah Passow

Dialogues within families are often the most difficult, so Judah prefers to discusses politics with other people like Samir, the Palaestinian or me, the German.

FINSTERBROOK
Four  Friends and a Dog from Hell

A mysterious door, a singing hotel and a mysterious beagle.

Some inheritances have it all! When Adrian and his father inherit an island hotel, they have no idea what great-grand aunt Käthe has left them. Villa Seelenfrieden is a house with personality – and it guards a tremendous secret. Only with the help of three friends and a mysterious beagle does Adrian manage to solve the riddle of Room 13. Because behind the door something is waiting for them that will change all their lives …

Welcome to Finsterbrook – an island full of secrets!

BORDERLAND

Life is a fragile matter.

Sixteen-year old Vincent has reached a low point in his life: Following his father’s death his mother is no longer coping, his beloved piano had to be sold and the customs at his new school are rough. When his mother is taken to hospital, Vincent is torn between the relief of having to look out only for himself and a deep sense of insecurity…

It is only when he meets the mysterious Jane that he realises that friendship and trust are also part of life’s sound.

An affecting novel full of language music and cool beats.

I AM YOURS, YOU ARE MINE

A misdirected email connects Judith with the mysterious Gabriel. When they finally meet, she is disappointed and wants to end their correspondence. But he won’t leave her alone…

LIFELONG

The Steilbergs plan a bbq with friends. At the last minute, Astrid Steilberg notices that she’s missing a few things and sends Julia, her ten year old daughter, on a quick trip to the supermarket. When Julia does not come back after two hours, Astrid begins to panic and calls the police. The following day brings the terrible news: Julia was raped and murdered. The Steilbergs spin into a vicious circle of recrimination and suspicion, a nightmare from which there seems to be no escape.

BLACKOUT

Heat wave pushes power grid to breaking point. A brief flickering heralds the catastrophe: Nothing works anymore, nor light nor telephone, nor fridge nor AC. ATMs, lifts, petrol pumps, street and traffic lights – everything is shut off. The first supply crunches are a matter of hours, and in the suburbs, people begin to riot…

Vol. 1: Die Rückkehr der Eskatay (The Return of the Eskatay)
Vol. 2: Die Blume des Bösen (The Flower of Evil)
Vol. 3: Das Vermächtnis der Magier (The Legacy of the Magicians)

Steampunk fantasy trilogy

Vol 1: Flüsternde Schatten (Whispering Shadows)
Vol. 2: Schlaflose Stimmen (Sleepless Voices)
Vol. 3: Lauernde Stille (Lurking Silence)

Mystery-thriller trilogy

Vol. 1: Der Weg nach Camelot (The Road to Camelot)
Vol. 2: Die Macht des Grals (The Power of the Grail)
Vol. 3: König Arturs Verrat (King Arthur’s Betrayal)
Vol. 4: Merlins Vermächtnis (Merlin’s Legacy)

Four Artus novels

Vol. 1: Zeitsprung (Time Gap)
Vol. 2: Der Fall Montauk (The Case Montauk)
Vol. 3: Das Portal (The Portal)
Vol. 4: Verrat in Florenz (Treason in Florence)
Vol. 5: Mission London (Mission London)

Time-travel adventure series

THREE BEARS IN THE NIGHT

Sammy is desperate. The child to whom he was given as a gift four years ago doesn’t want to play with him anymore. For a teddy bear, that means: The box, the attic, the end. But the old bear Jeremias claims to know the secret of immortality. And thus, three bears set off one icy winter night to save Sammy.

THE ART OF THE SMART DEBATE
A Crash Course in Reason

“I’m not arguing, I’m just explaining why I’m right.”
Haven’t we all thought the world would be a better place if certain people changed their minds? And have those people, without exception, never been ourselves?

This book explains the dubious ways in which our opinions are formed and the errors in thinking we make. It shows how much people overestimate their knowledge, why a unicorn by the wayside is a problem, and with which question you can reliably throw your interlocutors off track.

You’ll come across familiar controversies: such as the biological differences between men and women, the false explanations for colds, and Latin as a supposed measure to promote logical thinking. And finally, this book solves the greatest mystery of all: How can it be that we have different opinions at all, when everyone claims they are merely soberly examining the facts?

A highly entertaining and entertaining guide to dismantling arguments, exposing fallacies, and getting to the real reasons for disagreement in the process. Who knows, you might even find out in the process that you don’t agree at all.

THE NEW BOOK OF WEIRD EXPERIMENTS

What would babies eat if they could choose? Do sperms have a memory? Can humans live on a meat-only diet without suffering deficiency signs? Curiosity has always driven us to the strangest scientific experiments, which didn’t halt at fatal self-experiments. In this book, science journalist Reto U. Schneider has collected around 100 of the craziest, funniest and most tragic experiments.

THE BOOK OF WEIRD EXPERIMENTS

Scientists have designed the strangest experiments in the attempt to understand the world around us. Some scientists have made history, others lost their minds or their health. Reto U. Schneider has researched over 200 of the weirdest experiements – his re-telling is fun and exciting to read.

ASH PEOPLE

Three people meet in the Chinese province of Xinjiang at the edge of the desert: Erla, an exalted woman from Switzerland, Gert, a dark and unsympathetic German, and the Chinese industrialist Xin. When Erla falls in love with the richest man in the area and the daughter of that man disappears, Gert, whose role as a development worker for the Stasi in Ethiopia during the Mengitsu regime remains dubious, is the prime suspect. And when one of his former torture victims appears in China, the day of reckoning has come.

THE CZAR OF BROOKLYN

This first novel takes place in Moscow and Brighton Beach, Brooklyn NY, during the mid-90s. Young journalist Alexander Michailowitch Zwetkow, called Sacha by his friends, is commssioned by the magazine Sputnik to travel to New York to write about Russian immigrants to the city. Encounters, love affairs and crimes ensue. For far too long, the protagonist understands almost nothing of what happens to him in this almost ambleresque story, but emerges as a transformed person in the end. Ulrich Schmid’s novel impresses with the authenticity of its characters and their different mentalities and its locations.

An English translation is available.

“A clever crime novel and a closely observed portrait of post-sovjet society.” (Der Spiegel)

THE WOMAN OPPOSITE

Irene Voigt and the retired university professor Rüdiger Wolters have been neighbours for years wihtout ever exchanging a word.

She enjoys her independence; he is a recluse dedicated to scientific research.

One hot summer a woman and her son move to the neighborhood. And changes their lives for ever.

ALL MY CHILDREN

Friederike Beaufort is about to move from a country residence with garden to a 3-room apartment in a house-share in the city. But the closer the time comes to leaving, the more she regrets her decision. Clearing out the big house brings up memories of the past, many of them painful. Experimenting with relationships, an unfulfilled desire to have a child, the loss of loved ones… And now she has to let go again, this time of a beloved house and garden. But if you will only let it, every parting can also be a new beginning.

SISTERS FOREVER

When Elvira’s husband suffers a stroke, Elvira, her two sisters and the rest of the family are plunged into a crisis. Elvira will not forgive her husband his affair with a younger woman which calls into question her happy marriage and everything she lived for. Elvira’s sister Judith tries hard to support her and stand by her brother-in-law, while struggling with troubling and recurring signs of a growing forgetfulness. And Sylvie, the third sister, a free spirit, always carefree and independent-minded, has trouble accepting her “age” and seeks distraction in her relationship with a much younger, penniless artist.

Despite their individual differences the three sisters were always close, ever since the days of their youth when in 1968 they turned their parent’s house into a student community for one summer. They spent endless nights and days discussing new political and social theories and experimenting with free love. But unnoticed by the inhabitants of the community a tragedy takes its course putting an abrupt end to the lightness of those days. The events of that summer, the individual ommissions and suppressed feelings of guilt, will henceforth mark in different ways the lives of the three sisters and Elvira’s future husband. After many years the stroke confronts each of them with their self-delusions and life lies, while also putting the relationship of the three sisters to test.

AS IN A CURRENT WITHOUT SHORES
The Life of My Parents

The author relates the story of her parents. She traces the ideals and expectations that moved her parents and marked their lives: Her father’s, who until the end of his life could not deal with the realisation that the polictical system in which he believed had made him an accomplice to monstruous crimes; her mother’s, who preserved her joy of writing against the banality of day-to-day life, and the realisation that there would be no recognition.

THE HOUSE,  HAPPINESS  AND DEATH

A reflection about the fragility of happiness. In this memoir the author relates her experience of buying an old historical house and the long, often cumbersome and difficult process of restoring it faithfully to its history. When the labor of love, after many worries and hardships, is finally ready to be inhabited and enjoyed together, her beloved partner suddenly dies of a heart attack.

WE ARE WHAT WE HAVE
The Deeper Meaning of the Things in Our Lives

If you were emigrating: What would you pack? You diary? Your favorite cardigan or the watch handed down by your father? Some favourite objects follow us through life, from a baby’s security blanket to the carefully polished automobile, from the designer handbag to a decade old collection of things. Our relationship to these things touches upon some very personal questions: Identity and self-esteem, social position, our own biography.

With wit and knowledge Annette Schäfer tells how the role of these objects changes in the course of our life, what others make of them, which objects are cherished by women, which by men, why we can hardly part from some things – and tells us a lot about ourselves on the way.

THE POWER OF CREATIVE DESTRUCTION
Joseph A. Schumpeter. The Biography

Economists are not known to be the most exciting people in the world. A person who looks at life through the lens of economic laws every day must by nature be prosaic and sober. The life of Joseph Alois Schumpeter shows how wrong that assumption is.

Schumpeter’s theories are as fresh as ever. Born in Austria in 1883, he did not only unhinge the world of economics, he was also a very flamboyant man. His life is full of extremes and contradictions: Brilliant successes and devastating flops, deep love and deep pain, intellectual brilliance and haunting neuroses. It’s the story of a man who fought with frustrations and self-doubt for the best part of his life, but still managed to eclipse many of his colleagues.