Ferdinand von Schirach

Transcription

1 1 A razor-sharp observer ARD National Television Ferdinand von Schirach Ferdinand von Schirach/Foto: Tom Wagner The New York Times calls him an extraordinary stylist while the British Independent has compared him to Kafka and Kleist. Ferdinand von Schirach s short story collections, Crime and Guilt, and his novel, The Collini Case, became international bestsellers, selling millions of copies, and they have been published in more than thirty-five countries. Ferdinand von Schirach lives and works in Berlin as an author and a defence lawyer. He is a regular contributor of essays to the Spiegel magazine on topics of current relevance to society, these appearing also in international newspapers. His most recent essay, Dignity is not sacrosanct, was published, for example, in the pages of Spain s biggest newspaper, El Pais. Schirach has been the recipient of several international literary prizes including the highly respected Kleist Prize. The Wall Street Journal selected The Collini Case as one of its 10 Best Mysteries of 2013, and it reached fourth place in the Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun s Best Crime Novels of Crime was made into a television series on the German channel ZDF and nominated for the prestigious Grimme Prize. For the very first time, Taiwan, where Schirach s books are bestsellers, bought the rights to a German television series. Guilt is being made into a film, and further films are in the pipeline. The French newspaper Libération explains his success thus: Schirach s great feat is to show us that however monstrous someone s deeds may initially seem that person is, and remains, a human being. Ferdinand von Schirach is currently working on a theatre play and a new book. His collected essays will be published by Piper Verlag in the summer.

2 2 His cool, clear prose is as if shaped by a chisel. Neue Zürcher Zeitung Bibliography / International Publishers / Press Quotes TABOO Published September 2013 by Piper Verlag, Munich UK/AUS/NZ/CAN (Little, Brown/Abacus), France (Gallimard), The Netherlands (De Arbeiderspers), Italy (Longanesi), Norway (Gyldendal), Spain (Salamandra), Taiwan (Eurasian Press), Japan (Tokyo Sogensha), Poland (WAB), Greece (Nefeli) Tabu is way up there with the best German-language literature written in the last hundred years. Dagbladet (Norway) How wonderful, such a book consisting of nothing but clear sentences which are slender and smart, which echo in the reader s thoughts and carry him along in their wake of beauty. Spiegel His books are as intelligent as they are frightening: Ferdinand von Schirach has become a star of German literature. Focus Von Schirach has that rare talent of being able to create with just a few sentences a mood, or tangible atmosphere, or face, or character. His style is deeply compelling. Format Schirach speaks sentences that are so true that they hurt. Bunte Ferdinand von Schirach s most mature and enthralling book. Sonntagszeitung

3 3 The collini case Published September 2011 by Piper Verlag, Munich Brazil (Record), Denmark (Gyldendal), Finland (Atena Kustannus), France (Gallimard), Great Britain (Penguin), Hungary (Melotrade-Partnoval), Israel (Miskal), Italy (Longanesi), Japan (Tokyo Sogensha Co.), Netherlands (De Arbeiderspers), Norway (Gyldendal), Poland (WAB), Russia (AST), Spain (Salamandra), Sweden (Albert Bonniers förlag), Taiwan (Eurasian Press), USA (Viking Penguin), Romania (Pandora) Finalist for the 2013 Los Angeles Times Book Award Selected as one of the 10 Best Mysteries of 2013 by Wall Street Journal This author is a godsend for contemporary German literature: a man whose knowledge and life experience go well beyond the literary world, who knows how to tell a story brilliantly. Focus With his first novel Ferdinand von Schirach proves himself an astute storyteller. Die Welt Everything about The Collini Case is extraordinary. Sunday Times Meticulously constructed, devastating. A miracle of purpose and precision that leaves most bloated thrillers on the starting blocks. Financial Times This is a small gem sly, trenchant and provocative, none of its conclusions foregone. The Guardian Brilliant prose La Vanguardia

4 4 GUILT Published August 2010 by Piper Verlag, Munich Australia (Text), Brazil (Record), Catalonia (Salamandra), China (ThinkingdomMedia), Croatia (Zagrebacki Holding), Denmark (Gyldendal), Finland (Atena Kustannus), France (Gallimard), Great Britain (Chatto&Windus), Hungary (Melotrade-Partnoval), Italy (Longanesi), Japan (Tokyo Sogensha), Netherlands (De Arbeiderspers), Norway (Gyldendal), Poland (WAB), Portugal (Dom Quixote), Russia (AST), South Korea (Woongjin Think Big), Spain (Salamandra), Sweden (Bonnier), Taiwan (Eurasian Press), Turkey (NTV/Dogus), USA (Knopf) Reading these stories one experiences the pleasure felt otherwise only in the reading of work by Fitzgerald or Capote: every word has earned its place, it is the poetry of clarity, and the reader s imagination is drawn into there s no other way of putting it a film in the mind s eye. Welt am Sonntag Inspired by his experience, the lawyer Ferdinand von Schirach describes crimes with an amazing mastery. La Libre Belgique A major storytelling talent. Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung Guilt is radical, the stories are sly, they are overwhelmingly cold experimental set-ups. Die Zeit Super-chilling Observer

5 5 CRIME Published August 2009 by Piper Verlag, Munich Australia (Text), Basque (Erein), Brazil (Record), Bulgaria (Ciela), Catalonia (Salamandra), China (ThinkingdomMedia), Croatia (Zagrebacki Holding), Czech Republic (Euromedia), Denmark (Gyldendal), Estonia (Tänapäev), Finland (Atena Kustannus), France (Gallimard), Great Britain (Chatto&Windus), Hungary (Melotrade- Partnoval), Iceland (Bjartur), Israel (Am Oved), Italy (Longanesi), Japan (Tokyo Sogensha), Macedonia (Prosvetno-Delo), Netherlands (De Arbeiderspers), Norway (Gyldendal), Poland (WAB), Portugal (Dom Quixote), Romania (Pandora, Trei), Russia (AST), Serbia (Laguna), Slovakia (Ikar), Slovenia (Dovganocka), South Korea (Woongjin Think Big), Spain (Salamandra), Sweden (Bonnier), Taiwan (Eurasian Press), Turkey (NTV/Dogus), Greece (Nefeli), USA (Knopf) A wonderful debut, gripping from the very first page and never striking a false note. Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung A slim, utterly absorbing collection of 11 stories plucked from his legal career and told in a cool, patient voice that immediately draws the reader in. New York Times Book Review Ferdinand von Schirach has taken a sheaf of murders and criminal enigmas from his files and, with a sure writerly touch that some critics are comparing to the work of Raymond Carver, transformed them into literary gems. The Times Review A masterpiece. One of the greatest praises you can give to an author is to compare him to Friedrich Dürrenmatt. In many pages von Schirach reminded me of the moods and stories of that sublime, unforgettable master. Corriere della Sera Every story in Crime has its charme, its mystery and its tension, but Ferdinand von Schirach s real tour de force is beyond doubt to show us that a theft is not always a theft, an apple not always an apple and that, however monstrous his acts might seem at first glance, a human is always a human. Libération

6 6 Ferdinand von Schirach on: Crime: Crimes happen. They may be abhorrent, disgusting, detestable. But the human being who commits them, remains a human being nonetheless. Stern Guilt: The concept of guilt is far broader than the definition it is given in the court room. In the court room guilt is quite simply defined by an individual accused of breaching a criminal law. In daily life one can be guilty of many things that are not punishable by criminal law. The concept of moral guilt as opposed to legally punishable guilt is connected to what we as children understood as Good and Evil. It is impossible to define evil. It is the intangible, the darkness without name. It is only by naming it that we banish it. Bild am Sonntag Dignity: When a person is dictated to, without that person having any say in the matter, when the decisions on a person s existence, then, are made without their involvement, that person becomes an object. And so it is clear: the state may never weigh one life against another. No one may be considered of higher worth than another, because people are not objects. Der Spiegel Torture: Torture is one of the great taboos in jurisprudence and in law generally. We must not torture, and yet there are situations it which it is done and discussed. ORF (Austrian news channel) Writing: I too would love to be able to write like Tolstoy. But I suppose everyone s writing reflects the way they are. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Writing is harder than anything else I have done to date; it is often agonising and infuriating, but it is also splendid. You are all alone with your story, with your characters, within the atmosphere of the book. Focus