Daniel Kehlmann

'A masterly achievement, a work of imaginative grandeur and complete artistic control' Ian McEwan 'Brilliant and unputdownable' Salman Rushdie He's a trickster, a player, a jester. His handshake's like a pact with the devil, his smile like a crack in the clouds; he's watching you now and he's gone when you turn. Tyll Ulenspiegel is here! In a village like every other village in Germany, a scrawny boy balances on a rope between two trees. He's practising. He practises by the mill, by the blacksmiths; he practises in the forest at night, where the Cold Woman whispers and goblins roam. When he comes out, he will never be the same. Tyll will escape the ordinary villages. In the mines he will defy death. On the battlefield he will run faster than cannonballs. In the courts he will trick the heads of state. As a travelling entertainer, his journey will take him across the land and into the heart of a never-ending war. A prince's doomed acceptance of the Bohemian throne has European armies lurching brutally for dominion and now the Winter King casts a sunless pall. Between the quests of fat counts, witch-hunters and scheming queens, Tyll dances his mocking fugue; exposing the folly of kings and the wisdom of fools. With macabre humour and moving humanity, Daniel Kehlmann lifts this legend from medieval German folklore and enters him on the stage of the Thirty Years' War. When citizens become the playthings of politics and puppetry, Tyll, in his demonic grace and his thirst for freedom, is the very spirit of rebellion - a cork in water, a laugh in the dark, a hero for all time.

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2020

Tyll

mori

Lui salutò con un cenno della testa, si girò e se ne andò.

Avanzava più spedito, ora che non affondava più.

Lo stesso anno, nella brughiera dello Holstein morì l'ultimo drago del Nord. Aveva diciassettemila anni ed era stanco di nascondersi.

[...] sospirò e pensò con rammarico che non ci sarebbero più stati profumi e fiori e vento e che non avrebbe più visto il cielo in tempesta, il sorgere del sole e la curva dell'ombra della Terra sulla luna verderame, che tanto lo aveva rallegrato.

[...] Andava bene così, aveva visto tante cose, ma non sapeva ancora quello che sarebbe successo dopo la morte. Si addormentò con un ultimo sospirò. La sua vita era durata a lungo. Adesso era ora di trasformarsi.

Ma il ragazzo non lo dice. Né a lui né a nessun altro, né tanto meno a se stesso, perché se non ci pensi è come aver dimenticato, e se hai dimenticato non è successo.

Sono fatto di aria, dice. Non mi succederà niente. Non c'è motivo di piangere. Ho avuto fortuna. Poteva andare peggio.

Nathan Johnson

Tyll Ulenspiegel ist ein Tausendsassa, der im dreissigjährigen Krieg als Jongleur, Bauchredner und Possenreisser durch die Lande zieht. Ein Überlebenskünstler auf der Flucht vor brandschatzenden Soldaten und der Kirche.

Roman

Sonja H

„Tyll“ ist mein erstes Buch von Kehlmann und ich wusste nicht so recht, was mich erwarten würde. Ich rechnete mit einer Geschichte rund um den Narren Till Eulenspiegel, doch eigentlich ist dieser nur das Bindungsglied in den Irrungen und Wirrungen des Dreißigjährigen Krieges, in die der Autor seine Leser versetzt.

Wir tänzeln – leichtfüßig wie Tyll und seine Begleiterin Nele – von Szene zu Szene und treffen sowohl geschichtlich relevante Personen als auch völlig erfundene Charaktere.
Es ist schwierig, sich auf eine Situation einzulassen, denn kaum hat man sich ein wenig eingelebt, wechselt die Kulisse und wir suchen Ulenspiegel in einem anderen Wimmelbild.

Ich bin mir nicht sicher, was ich von diesem Roman halten soll. Er wird oft verglichen mit dem „abenteuerlichen Simplicissimus“ und ich muss gestehen, dass ich ihn mindestens genauso zäh fand wie diesen.
Er erinnerte mich auch an den „Hundertjährigen, der aus dem Fenster stieg und verschwand“ – noch so ein Protagonist, der sich für den Nabel der Welt hält, durchs Leben fällt und unterwegs wichtigen Personen begegnet.

Am sympathischsten in diesem Buch war mir Nele, die ihre Entscheidungen sehr bodenständig und emotionslos trifft und ihren eigenen, unabhängigen Weg geht. Sie eckt dabei jedoch bei weitem nicht so sehr an wie Tyll, der Menschen dazu bringt, das Schlechteste aus sich herauszuholen.

Literarisch ist „Tyll“ sicherlich ein interessantes Werk, aber das Storytelling ist zu stark angelehnt an klassische Erzählweisen und wirkt auf mich etwas bemüht.

Man sollte es vielleicht mal gelesen haben, aber ich würde es nicht als Geschenk unter den Weihnachtsbaum legen.

Nick Bicko

Fantastic historial novel revolving around the Thirty Year War, having the famous German (fictional) practical joker Till Eulenspiegel as the anchor point connecting the dots. 

Maytal

Camila

Axel Bard Bringeus

Sara Sunshine

'A masterly achievement, a work of imaginative grandeur and complete artistic control' Ian McEwan'Brilliant and unputdownable' Salman RushdieHe's a trickster, a player, a jester. His handshake's like a pact with the devil, his smile like a crack in the clouds; he's watching you now and he's gone when you turn. Tyll Ulenspiegel is here!In a village like every other village in Germany, a scrawny boy balances on a rope between two trees. He's practising. He practises by the mill, by the blacksmiths; he practises in the forest at night, where the Cold Woman whispers and goblins roam. When he comes out, he will never be the same.Tyll will escape the ordinary villages. In the mines he will defy death. On the battlefield he will run faster than cannonballs. In the courts he will trick the heads of state. As a travelling entertainer, his journey will take him across the land and into the heart of a never-ending war.A prince's doomed acceptance of the Bohemian throne has European armies lurching brutally for dominion and now the Winter King casts a sunless pall. Between the quests of fat counts, witch-hunters and scheming queens, Tyll dances his mocking fugue; exposing the folly of kings and the wisdom of fools.With macabre humour and moving humanity, Daniel Kehlmann lifts this legend from medieval German folklore and enters him on the stage of the Thirty Years' War. When citizens become the playthings of politics and puppetry, Tyll, in his demonic grace and his thirst for freedom, is the very spirit of rebellion - a cork in water, a laugh in the dark, a hero for all time.

Tyll Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2020

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