© Barbara DietlHOLGER SIEMANN was born in Leipzig in 1962. He studied philosophy at Humboldt University in Berlin, was an officer in the GDR army, and worked as an actor, social worker, social scientist, and journalist. He is the author of several radio plays, radio features, and libretti, as well as two novels. Holger Siemann lives in Berlin and in rural Uckermark north of Berlin.
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DAS WEISZHEITHAUS
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THE WEISZHEIT HOUSE Like the history of Berlin in the 20th century, this is a layered, multi-voiced, sometimes brutal and disturbing story of a family and the house they lived in. In 2011 Sven Gabbert inherits an apartment building in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg district, built in 1900, with 30 apartments: The Weiszheithaus. The attic houses a bizarre archive full of the published works by famous GDR author Kurt Weiszheit, his diaries, manuscripts and letters, but also photos, official documents and other remnants of the residents. Wheelchair-bound after an accident, Sven resorts to the exploration of the house’s history. The supposedly rich body of source material soon turns into a maelstrom, in which fragments of Kurt Weiszheit’s writings, kaleidoscope like, tell different versions of his Weiszheit stories, often contradicted by the letters, diaries, patient charts, advertising signs, tenant ledgers, notes and other material. Which version of the story is true? What is made up? |
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KARLAS VERSUCH, DIE WELT ZU VERBESSERN
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KARLA'S ATTEMPT TO SAVE THE WORLD Karla, an unemployed sociologist with a Ph.D., is pawning her valuable library in order to survive. In her desperation she applies for the job of housekeeper in the home of Jost Sattler, an MP in the Federal Parliament in Berlin, looking after his teenage kids, his demented father, and not least Sattler himself, who mourns the loss of his wife to cancer a few months before. While there Karla hacks into Sattler's computer in order to undermine the implementation of security measures in the name of "the war on terror" - while at the same time lodging a refugee from Palestine who attracts the attention of the intelligence services. The impending visit of the US president brings matters to a head... A tale of our times, told with Holger Siemann's trademark wit and warmth. |
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ARBEIT UND STREBEN
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WORKING AND STRIVING Holger Siemann's first novel tells the story of three generations of the Schöne family, of their loves and dreams and tragedies. When their emotions clash with reality, the result can be sad or funny or both at the same time. The Schönes are renovating the family mansion - once expropriated under the communist regime in the GDR - in order for the three generations to live under one roof again. The family business, Schöne Plastik, has finally left the economical doldrums behind, which is reason enough to plan a big ball for family, friends and the town’s dignitaries in the renovated villa. The party is occasion to take a step back and ponder where life has taken the family members. On close inspection, cracks begin to show under the surface... |
