Man in the Holocene

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The parabolic novella Man in the Holocene (1979) is one of Max Frisch’s later works. A distinctive feature of this book’s style are the reprinted cutouts, that the protagonist, Mr. Geiser, cut out of several encyclopedias (on the meta-level). This trick gives us an insight into lonely Mr. Geiser’s world and lets this very athmospheric novella seem even more real (it „proves“ fiction). The structure of the sentences is atmospheric, too. There are many breaks that structure the plot. The reader feels the slow sense of time and the mood Geiser has. This way, the silence of this rainy Tessin mountain village is captured very well.

„Man in the Holocene“ was voted into the „Schweizer Bibliothek“ (20 volumes) of the weekly Swiss magazine "Das Magazin" in 2005/ 2006. It competes with the – also late work - Montauk (1975), which a lot of readers suggest to be Frisch’s most mature works. Marcel Reich-Ranicki prefers „Montauk“ (http://www.schweizer-bibliothek.ch/urteil.html)

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The aged Mr. Geiser is bored in his Tessin house during torrential rains. He is that bored, that he tries to make a pagoda out of crispbread an categorizes thunders (into rolling thunders, banging thunders etc.). Rumors report a landslide, the valley is cut off. Fearing a total mountain slide, that would bury the village and man’s knowledge, Geiser reads in his encyclopedia, the bible, history books and cuts out/transcripts important information for posterity. He attaches the notes to the walls of the house. (He must note sadly: The front sides of the encyclopedia’s pages are visible, but the back sides unfortunately are dissected and destroyed)

Despite the weather, he wanders around. But, while wandering, he feels his physical limits, and limits of man’s knowledge’s importance, too (Will there still be God, when there are no more human brains, that can’t imagine a creation without creator?).

He notes, how little and meaningless man is (man appears in holocene) and knowledge isn’t always that important. The old man is exposed to the cycle of life and his perishability. Geiser has to end his hike and turn on his heels. Another climax of the uneventful novella is just a salamander that gets astray in the house. Other events are the daugther’s visit and food that threats to expire.

The whole knowledge-collecting seems laughable in many viewpoints and as a chaotic confusion of notes and cutouts. Geiser has to admit that „der Mensch bleibt ein Laie“ (man stays a rookie).

Geiser slowly loses his memory. Upcomes the question, if memory was needable or not - "the rocks do not need my memory". Towards the end, Geiser suffers a cerebral apoplexiy, that attacks his memory.

Now it turns out, that the fear of a mountain slide was the fear of cerebral apoplexiy, fearing loss of man’s knowledge was fearing loss of the own memory. That is the parabolic aspect.