Eva Menasse

A panoramic novel of European history, by an internationally bestselling writer. The whole truth, as the name implies, is the collective knowledge of all those involved. Which is why you can never piece it together again properly afterwards. Because a few of those who possessed a part of it are always already dead. Or lying, or their memories are bad. It’s 1989, and in a small town on the Austria–Hungary border, nobody talks about the war; the older residents pretend not to remember, and the younger ones are too busy making plans to leave. The walls are thin, the curtains twitch, there is a face at every window, and everyone knows what they are not supposed to say. But as thousands of East German refugees mass at the border, it seems that the past is knocking on Darkenbloom’s door. Still, though, nobody talks about the war. Until a mysterious visitor shows up asking questions. Until townspeople start receiving threatening letters and even disappearing. Until a body is found. Darkenbloom is a sweeping novel of exiled counts, Nazis-turned-Soviet-enforcers, secret marriages, mislabelled graves, remembrance, guilt, and the devastating power of silence, by one of Austria’s most significant contemporary writers.

A panoramic novel of European history, by an internationally bestselling writer. The whole truth, as the name implies, is the collective knowledge of all those involved. Which is why you can never really piece it together again afterwards. Because some of those who possessed a part of it will already be dead. Or they're lying, or their memories are bad. It's 1989, and in a small town on the Austria-Hungary border, nobody talks about the war; the older residents pretend not to remember, and the younger ones are too busy making plans to leave. The walls are thin, the curtains twitch, there is a face at every window, and everyone knows what they are not supposed to say. But as thousands of East German refugees mass at the border, it seems that the past is knocking on Darkenbloom's door. Still, though, nobody talks about the war. Until a mysterious visitor shows up asking questions. Until townspeople start receiving threatening letters and even disappearing. Until a body is found. Darkenbloom is a sweeping novel of exiled counts, Nazis-turned-Soviet-enforcers, secret marriages, mislabelled graves, remembrance, guilt, and the devastating power of silence, by one of Austria's most significant contemporary writers.

A panoramic novel of European history, by an internationally bestselling writer. The whole truth, as the name implies, is the collective knowledge of all those involved. Which is why you can never piece it together again properly afterwards. Because a few of those who possessed a part of it are always already dead. Or lying, or their memories are bad. It’s 1989, and in a small town on the Austria–Hungary border, nobody talks about the war; the older residents pretend not to remember, and the younger ones are too busy making plans to leave. The walls are thin, the curtains twitch, there is a face at every window, and everyone knows what they are not supposed to say. But as thousands of East German refugees mass at the border, it seems that the past is knocking on Darkenbloom’s door. Still, though, nobody talks about the war. Until a mysterious visitor shows up asking questions. Until townspeople start receiving threatening letters and even disappearing. Until a body is found. Darkenbloom is a sweeping novel of exiled counts, Nazis-turned-Soviet-enforcers, secret marriages, mislabelled graves, remembrance, guilt, and the devastating power of silence, by one of Austria’s most significant contemporary writers.

A collection of unique, profound, and witty stories that relate animals’ peculiarities to human attitudes.Animals is a collection of short stories in which each story takes a peculiar item about animals that appears, like fables, to shine a spotlight on different aspects of human behavior—like caterpillars digging their own graves, sharks in need of artificial respiration, ducks that keep an eye out for hungry predators even in their sleep. It is a treat to watch Eva Menasse spin these observations into scenes of people battling their everyday anxieties and doubts. An old tyrant realizes that he is unable to prevent his wife’s worsening dementia from erasing his own past as it erases hers. A mother who tries to protect a Muslim child from hostile accusations finds that her own boundaries between good and evil begin to blur. A woman realizes how starkly her father’s traumatic past has shaped her quirky habits and deepest fears. Combining biting wit, mystery, and melancholy, these tales are the work of a masterful storyteller.

August 1989. Jerntæppet er ved at falde. Dunkelblum er en søvnig lille by i Østrig, på grænsen til Ungarn. Bag den idylliske facade blomstrer årtiers tavshed, som bliver brudt da en ung kvinde forsvinder, en mystisk besøgende stiller mærkelige spørgsmål og man finder et skelet fra krigen på en mark i udkanten af byen.Dunkelblum er en spændende og skelsættende roman om historisk skyld, om skeletter i skabet og fortielsernes ødelæggende kraft.»Eva Menasse har med Dunkelblum skabt et mesterværk.« – Die Zeit“Mørkt og komisk, perspektivrigt og særegent om skeletter i skabet og sår der aldrig heler … Det her er et imponerende stykke litteratur, om historisk skyld og om hvordan man forholder sig til den …”– Sigmund Jensen, Stavanger AftenbladFRA CHRISTIAN JOHANNES IDSKOVS INTERVIEW MED EVA MENASSE I POLITIKEN»Den historiske model til Dunkelblum fandt Menasse i Rechnitz i Burgenland en landsby tæt på den østrigungarske grænse. Her afholdt grevinde Margit Batthyány-Thyssen om natten til 25. marts 1945 en stor fest for de lokale nazistiske berømtheder. I en blanding af feststemning og desperation tømte gæsterne grevindens våbenarsenal og skød cirka 180 underernærede jødiske tvangsarbejdere, der ikrigens sidste dage skulle bygge den sydøstlige mur op som det sidste forsvarsværk mod denfremstormende Røde Hær.Dunkelblum, siger Menasse, er ikke historien om Rechnitz, men en historie om landskabet og det omkringliggende landlige miljø. Hun ønskede at skrive en roman som virkede almengyldig, fordi det langtfra bare var i Rechnitz at sådanne hændelser indtraf.Der var omkring 120 sammenlignelige massakrer i hele området i de sidste uger af krige. Det enestående ved Rechnitz er at man aldrig opdagede massegravene. Alle andre steder fandt man ligene af de døde og byggede mindesmærker. Kun i Rechnitz fortiede man katastrofen.«

Alle tier om noe. August 1989: Jernteppet rives. Ved den ungarske grensen er hundrevis av østtyske flyktninger ivrige etter å komme seg til østerriksk side. Dunkelblum, en søvnig liten by på grensen, begynner å våkne opp fra flere tiår med glemsel. Bak den idylliske fasaden skjuler det seg en forbrytelse som innbyggerne har tiet om. Men nå begynner ting å skje: en ung kvinne forsvinner, en mystisk besøkende stiller merkelige spørsmål, studenter graver opp en glemt jødisk kirkegård. Ved hjelp av vidd og spenning spenner Eva Menasse opp et bredt historisk lerret fra en liten bys perspektiv, og forteller om hvordan innbyggerne håndterer historisk skyld. Dunkelblum er et mørkt komisk epos om sårene i landskapet, menneskets sjel og minne.

Elokuu 1989. Rautaesirippu repeilee. Unkarin rajalla sadat itäsaksalaiset pakolaiset janoavat pääsyä Itävallan puolelle. Rajan unelias pikkukaupunki Dunkelblum alkaa havahtua vuosikymmenien unohduksesta. Idyllisen julkisivun taakse kätkeytyy rikos, jonka kaupunkilaiset toivoivat jo iäksi torjuneensa. Nyt alkaa tapahtua: nuori nainen katoaa, arvoituksellinen vierailija kyselee outoja kysymyksiä, opiskelijat kaivavat unohtuneen juutalaisen hautausmaan esiin.Terävän huumorin ja jännityksen keinoin Eva Menasse rakentaa suuren historiallisen panoraaman pienen kaupungin perspektiivistä ja kertoo, miten asukkaat käsittelevät historiallista syyllisyyttä.Dunkelblum on mustanpuhuvan koominen eepos maiseman haavoista, ihmissielusta ja muistista.

”Krystalklar prosa … stor litteratur” Die Zeit ”Efter læsning af det, der sandsynligvis er årets smukkeste novellesamling, beklager man, at de religiøse forfædre kun beskrev syv dødssynder” Die Welt ”Formidabel psykologisk indsigt samt stor sproglig sikkerhed … smukke, humoristiske, tragiske og tankevækkende billeder” Dansk BiblioteksCenter Vi har længe klaret os uden Gud, men det er, som om dødssynderne hænger ved. De arkaiske mønstre er svære at bryde. Eva Menasse er en af Østrigs mest kritikerroste og prisvindende forfattere og på dansk er tidligere udkommet novellesamlingen Dyr for viderekomne. Menasse har en særlig evne til at skære sig ind i det moderne menneskes kernehus. Gerne med en underliggende og knastør humor (hun er da også modtager af den internationale Jonathan Swift Pris for humor og satire).God fornøjelse med læsning af novellerne, der rummer syv tilgivelige dødssynder ...

"Ætsende og superskarpe noveller." Thomas Thurah, Information? ? ? ? ?"Det er ganske enkelt en gave, at Eva Menasses begavede forfatterskab endelig finder vej til Danmark." Christian Johannes Idskov, Politiken Otte noveller, otte dyrearter, otte skalpelskarpe historier om moderne menneskers relationer. Patchwork-familien, demens og integration er nogle af de temaer, Menasse udfolder med en stilsikker hånd og underspillet sarkasme. Man føler sig genkendt. Ikke altid for det gode. Eva Menasse modtog Austrian Book Prize 2017 for Dyr for viderekomne, der er hendes første bog oversat til dansk. ”Udvinder litterært guldstøv af vores lunkne hverdag” Susanne Kippenberger, Der Tagesspiegel ”Charmerende anti-fabler … ikke mindst fordi der er plads til såvel det sørgelige som komiske i dette store symbioseteater” Jutta Person, Die Zeit