Culture
May 3, 2024

Books in February

Heinz Strunk: Fleckenteufel

Heinz Strunk: "Spot Devil"

"I was 16 and she was 31. And I did not know much about love, she knew everything and she let me feel, I was not a kid anymore and it was summer ..."Peter Maffay used to sing with a serious look.

Okay, we can see some similarities: Even Thorsten Bruhn is sixteen and yes, also in "Patch devil" is just summer. More specifically, August 4, 1977. But women who are willing to share their love skills with him are far from being seen anywhere. Not even girls of his age. Because Thorsten is quite a late bloomer. Instead of making first contacts with girls, he prefers to escape in five-friends books and sex dreams - and gets down regularly.

But that should change now: Thorsten is on his way to Scharbeutz. Two weeks of community time lie ahead of him - for an incredible 343 D-Mark. Two weeks to lose his innocence, make new friends and become a cool guy.

It's just a pity that Thorsten has to suffer constipation right now, which causes him more and more from day to day ...

Spot devil vs. wetlands

"Huh, was not it?", Some may have wondered, as he "Spot Devil" by Heinz Strunk held in the hands for the first time. And indeed: The book cover is reminiscent of Charlotte Roche's "Wetlands": same layout, same font, only instead of pink with pavement turquoise with washcloths.

If you are not scared of that, you will notice on page 6: Yes, here too, anal events are assigned a special meaning - let's say -. It's about constipation, diarrhea and flatulence. And even the male genital area is not spared by drastic visual images: seed cheese, rancid sperm - do you have to say more?

Cult author Heinz Strunk ("Meat is my vegetables") himself calls his book "a first class pamphlet in the subject square intestinal obstruction - bible study - ejaculation - bicycle rally". Fans of "Wetlands" I'm sure he'll be right. Everyone else should better take the fingers off "Patch devil" to let.

Heinz Strunk Fleckenteufel 224 pages, 12.00 EUR Paperback, Rowohlt ISBN: 978-3-499-25224-2

Simon Beckett: Deathly Pale

The crime scene to which David Hunter and his colleague Tom Lieberman are called testifies to an unimaginable martyrdom: An almost unrecognizable tortured and decayed corpse tied to a table in a lonely wooden hut in the mountains of Tennessee. When investigating the body, the two forensic anthropologists quickly encounter discrepancies: The time of death and the advanced decay of the corpse do not match, and the cause of death can not be clearly determined.

As more bodies are found, whose identity is not clear, the investigators quickly realize that they are dealing with an insane serial killer who understands more of their subject than they initially assume.

You do not know how close the killer really is to them ...

Exciting thriller for the hard-core

Simon Beckett

Dr. David Hunter is back! Already in Simon Beckett first two novels "Chemistry of Death" and "Cold ashes" The anthropologist had his hands full with the autopsy of corpses and the solution of exciting murder cases. And also in "Leichenblässe" He does not have much time to breathe deeply, especially as he becomes a hunted person this time.

One thing is clear: "Leichenblässe" is only for the hard-core. Whether maggots in body orifices, insects that are attracted to the smell of decay or scattered body parts - here is not teased with detailed descriptions. Who can do that, expected with "Leichenblässe" an exciting thriller, at the end of a furious showdown.

Simon Beckett Leichenblässe 416 pages, 19.90 EUR Hardcover, Wunderlich ISBN: 978-3-805208666

Oliver Maria Schmitt: "The best novel of all times"

What would you do if you are always persecuted by bad luck and suddenly a successful author falls at your feet, who finally brings you the longed for fame and success in seemingly tangible proximity?

Mick Rademann, who has just graduated as a "coach, mediator and graduate decelerator", takes a strong interest in this opportunity. When he suddenly flies in front of a Frankfurt nightclub, a man in black leather air at the feet, Rademann combines lightning fast and takes the fallen Jo Hollenbach immediately under his wing. Because the man turns out to be an author and claims that he had achieved a great breakthrough with his recently published novel "BRAZ" (Best Novel of All Time). The single and bankrupt vulture Rademann suspects the success and draws hope that his first and only patient Hollenbach will improve his entire life situation. In his mind, he already sees himself swimming in the money, a swanky car and a lot of willing women.

Of course, Rademann's plan does not go as planned. But rather thoroughly wrong. Luck, fame and success are in the distance, because suddenly Rademann and Hollenbach are hunted down by the Balkan mafia and kidnapped to Albania. Oddly enough, nobody wants to pay ransom money for the seemingly successful author Hollenbach. So the kidnappers force him to write a new success story. But Hollenbach has other plans ...

Really the best novel ever?

After his punk novel "AnarchoShnitzel they cried" tells Oliver Maria Schmitt, Ex-chief of the satirical magazine "Titanic", in his new book "The best novel of all time" the adventurous story of an unequal couple, which at the same time is a satire on the entire literary scene. With hints to real-life successful novels, e.g. "Wetlands" or "catcher in the wheat" promises Schmitts novel because of the title, however, more than he can hold. The abstruse story is funny told thanks to funny puns and the absurd coincidences and disasters that occur to the two main protagonists are entertaining but sometimes too jiggly. The best novel of all time Schmitt's work is certainly not, but a fun pastime until the best novel finally appears on the market.

Oliver Maria Schmitt The best novel of all time 252 pages, 16,90 Euro hardcover, Rowohlt ISBN 978-3871346224