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Schwebebahnen
Description:
In the late 1950s, six-year-old Josef moves with his parents from Cologne to Wuppertal, settling into a house filled with railway workers' families. He is a deeply introverted loner who would prefer to do nothing but play the piano. Having had to drop out of school in Cologne, he makes a fresh start in his new home. When he meets Mücke—the daughter of the greengrocer across the street—a close friendship develops between the two children, helping him overcome his inhibitions. Gradually, he opens up to others as well: to the fathers of the Order of the Holy Cross, who teach him to read aloud and sing, and to a youth coach who trains him in cross-country running. Yet his greatest source of stability comes from writing down stories—tales of rides on the suspension railway along the Wupper, expeditions featuring eccentric zoo animals, or adventurous battles with youth gangs in a nearby forest. With moving intensity, Hanns-Josef Ortheil recounts the story of both internal and external reconstruction in postwar West Germany. *Schwebebahnen* is the story of a boy who initially displays autistic traits and discovers his own fantasy worlds, fueled by music. At the same time, it offers a sweeping panorama of a deeply traumatized society, where people lead quiet lives scarred by the Second World War and remain gripped by fear in the face of a looming new conflict.
Temporarily out of stock – available within 30 to 40 business days
MARC records are available
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