»John von Düffel ist nicht allein ein begnadeter Stilist und großartiger Beobachter, er ist vor allem auch
ein richtiger Erzähler.«
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John von Düffel
Beste Jahre - Best Years
"We didn’t really have a desire to have children, but rather saw it as a question of fate. If it worked out, good – if not, good as well."
The success of his family sagas "Vom Wasser" and "Houwelandt" made John von Düffel famous – his new novel demonstrates how uncertain family nowadays is.
Michael is an actor but drama has long vanished from his life. Being in his early forties, he doesn’t have to make eyes at every woman. Together with his wife Lisa he enjoys this calmer time. Suddenly the word ‘children’s room’ appears on their new flat’s ground plan. They acknowledge to each other that a child would make them even happier. But they can’t force it and their ‘fertility-contest’ doesn’t produce a winner. So they search for help, and drama returns to their lives.
John von Düffel turns this important and up-to-date subject into a highly cunning novel: "Best Years" tells about a complicated love story from Germany – the long way from couple to family has quite a few surprises in store.
Beste Jahre - Best Years
"We didn’t really have a desire to have children, but rather saw it as a question of fate. If it worked out, good – if not, good as well."
The success of his family sagas "Vom Wasser" and "Houwelandt" made John von Düffel famous – his new novel demonstrates how uncertain family nowadays is.
Michael is an actor but drama has long vanished from his life. Being in his early forties, he doesn’t have to make eyes at every woman. Together with his wife Lisa he enjoys this calmer time. Suddenly the word ‘children’s room’ appears on their new flat’s ground plan. They acknowledge to each other that a child would make them even happier. But they can’t force it and their ‘fertility-contest’ doesn’t produce a winner. So they search for help, and drama returns to their lives.
John von Düffel turns this important and up-to-date subject into a highly cunning novel: "Best Years" tells about a complicated love story from Germany – the long way from couple to family has quite a few surprises in store.
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John von Düffel
John von Düffel was born in Göttingen in 1966, he works as a dramaturg at Deutsches Theater Berlin and is professor for scenic writing at the Berlin...
John von Düffel was born in Göttingen in 1966, he works as a dramaturg at Deutsches Theater Berlin and is professor for scenic writing at the Berlin University of the Arts. He has published novels and story collections with DuMont since 1998, including 'Vom Wasser' (1998), 'Houwelandt' (2004), 'Wassererzählungen' (2014), 'Das Klassenbuch' (2017), 'Der brennende See' (2020) 'Wasser und andere Welten' (new edition 2021) and most recently ‘Die Wütenden und die Schuldigen’ (2021). His works have...