Ich werde hier sein im Sonnenschein und im Schatten

Ich werde hier sein im Sonnenschein und im Schatten
Author Christian Kracht
Original title Ich werde hier sein im Sonnenschein und im Schatten
Country Switzerland
Language German
Published September 16, 2008
Pages 160
ISBN 978-3-462-04041-8
OCLC 259679205
Preceded by 1979
Followed by Imperium

Ich werde hier sein im Sonnenschein und im Schatten is a novel by Swiss writer Christian Kracht. It was published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch in September 2008. The title, translating to "I'll be here in sunshine and in shadow", is from the lyrics to the Irish anthem Danny Boy.

The novel presents an alternate history of Switzerland in which Lenin did not leave Switzerland for Russia in 1917 to bring about the Russian Revolution. Instead, Lenin's revolution took place in Switzerland, transforming it into the Swiss Socialist Republic, a Communist state engaged in the colonisation of Africa and in perpetual war with other totalitarian empires, notably with a federation of British and German fascists. The plot of the novel, set in around 2010, traces a black Swiss political commissar's journey to the heart of the empire, the gigantic alpine Reduit, where he is to arrest Brazhinsky, an enemy of the state.

Ich werde hier sein's surreal setting and precise prose has garnered acclaim in the German-speaking literary world. Die Welt called it a "glorious horror story";[1] the Süddeutsche Zeitung praised the writing as not only deeply reminiscent of Ernst Jünger, but also as the "most beautiful German prose currently on offer"[2] and Die Zeit hailed the work as "possibly the novel of the year".[3] But the Frankfurter Rundschau 's reviewer discounted Ich werde hier sein as "simply moronic" and Die Tageszeitung found the text to be too diffuse and incoherent, amounting to just a "drug-clouded scenery".[4]

The novel has been translated into Russian, Croatian, Swedish, Polish, Bulgarian, Korean, French, Norwegian and Dutch.

References

  1. Elmar, Krekeler (22 September 2008). "Christian Kracht bringt Krieg in die Schweiz" (in German). Die Welt. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
  2. Seibt, Gustav (19 September 2008). "Es roch nach Menschentalg" (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
  3. Hugendick, David (24 September 2008). "Verloren an diesem Ort" (in German). Die Zeit Online. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
  4. "Ich werde hier sein im Sonnenschein und im Schatten". Perlentaucher.de. Retrieved 2008-09-25.