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Der Forstmeister
Description:
This posthumously published novel is considered the magnum opus of the Lucerne-based writer, priest, and secondary school teacher Josef Vital Kopp (1906-1966). It tells the story of Hadrian Ess, a district forester who, within the confines of a rigid and labyrinthine forestry enterprise, increasingly loses his sense of orientation and vital energy. Upon its publication, the work was interpreted as an engagement with the state of the Roman Catholic Church during the Second Vatican Council, yet its scope extends far beyond this context. Kopp regarded the novel--which he completed just a few months before his death--as his literary legacy. On the surface, the story concerns a nebulous, sprawling forestry operation organized much like a religious order, one that grants its employees no private life. For the employees, too, only a few hierarchical levels are discernible; indeed, even those holding high-ranking positions apparently possess no concrete knowledge regarding the ominous "Forest Master" who supposedly stands at the very top. Reflected in this depicted machinery of power--which is fundamentally hostile to life--are various spheres of existence, such as the Roman Catholic Church, the military, and other strictly hierarchical organizations. Due to this complex yet unsettling worldview, "Der Forstmeister" has, since its publication, frequently been compared to the works of Franz Kafka. Within the landscape of Swiss literature of the 1960s, this enigmatic yet fascinating work stands out like an erratic block.
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