Heinrich is a great father, a wonderful husband, a fantastic lover – and also the opposite of all of these things. Gabriele Kögl tells a story of deception and self-deception with an admirable lightness.
No-one could have foreseen that Heinrich would do so well for himself. He had started off in life right from the bottom, fatherless and not exactly adored by his mother. Now he drives a sports car, lives life in the fast lane. But he has had to work hard for it, and still does. He had started earning his own money at an early age, at the same time as studying, and the dental practice had not become a success without a great deal of effort on his part.
Heinrich fulfils every wish of his wife, who comes from a middle-class family, and of course of his beloved daughter. At least he believes he does.
Unfortunately he does not succeed in convincing his wife that he is also a fantastic lover.
To prove this he visits (amongst others) Margot, a single radio journalist, until an unplanned pregnancy leads to decisions having to be made. Unsurprisingly, these are not made jointly. Now that she has a child, Margot’s life changes drastically, her career possibilities and her income being reduced to a minimum; even finding a new apartment proves to be an almost insurmountable problem. Still, she never lets it get her down.
Heinrich, on the other hand, in the midst of his life which looks like a huge success story, sometimes feels like crying.
With incredible ease, Gabriele Kögl quickly changes perspective to draw fine character studies that never fail to get under your skin.
Also published by Wallstein
Mutterseele (Mother´s Soul). Novel (2005);
Das Mensch (The Bitch). Novel (1994, now available again)
»Absolutely fascinating – thrilling. I was completely enthralled, I picked it up and couldn’t put it down again until I had finished it«
Hella Winnemuth, Winnemuth Bookshop
»An extraordinary book, well worth reading, about lust and love, simplicity and luxury and the meaning of life. A wonderful novel! Highly recommendable«
Christian Rößner, Thalia
The Authoress
Gabriele Kögl, born in Graz in 1960, studied and completed teacher training at the Film Academy, wrote scripts for short films and documentaries (Short Film Award from the British Academy. Film prize and script prize at the international film festival in Tokyo). For her first novel »Das Mensch«
(The Bitch) she received the Clemens-Brentano Prize from the town of Heidelberg. Other awards include the Alfred Gesswein Literature Prize, Würth Prize 2005, second prize at the »Floriana 2006 Biennale for Literature« .
