Peter Stamm

Im überheizten Lesesaal der Public Library in Chicago wechseln sie die ersten Blicke, bei einem Kaffee die ersten Worte. Eines Tages fordert Agnes ihn auf, ein Porträt über sie zu schreiben, sie will wissen, was er von ihr hält. Schnell zeigt sich, dass Bilder und Wirklichkeit sich nicht entsprechen - und dass die Phantasie immer mehr Macht über ihre Liebesbeziehung erhält.

"Livet hans var en endeløs rekkefølge av skoletimer, av sigaretter og måltider, kinobesøk, treff med kjærester og venner, som i grunnen ikke betydde noe for ham, usammenhengende lister av små hendelser. På et eller annet tidspunkt hadde han gitt opp å skulle gi det hele en form, å finne en form i det. Jo mindre hendelsene i livet hans hadde noe med hverandre å gjøre, desto mer utskiftbare var de blitt. Enkelte ganger forekom det ham som om han var en turist som rasket seg videre fra en severdighet til neste i en by som han ikke engang kjente navnet på." ?? På en dag som alle andre, på en dag som denne, forandrer Andreas livet sitt. Etter et rutinebesøk hos legen får han en uventet diagnose og blir grepet av en sterk, udefinerbar lengsel. Like uventet vekkes en gammel kjærlighet til live, han sier opp lærerjobben sin i Paris, selger leiligheten og drar tilbake til Sveits, for å lete etter kvinnen han var besatt av et halvt liv tidligere. Peter Stamm nådde med denne romanen, som ble nominert til den tyske bokprisen, et foreløpig høydepunkt i sitt forfatterskap. Gjennom sin utvungne lakoniske stil og en upåtrengende ekspressivitet, bekrefter Stamm sin posisjon som en av de ypperste forfattere i sveitsisk samtidslitteratur. ?? PETER STAMM, født 1963, bor i Winterthur i Sveits. Har hatt lengre opphold i Paris, New York og Skandinavia. Siden 1990 har han arbeidet som forfatter og journalist. Foruten På en dag som denne har han skrevet tre romaner, deriblant norgesromanen Ungefähre Landschaft, tre novellesamlinger og flere teaterstykker. Peter Stamms prosa er oversatt til en rekke språk.

An einem Tag wie diesem ändert Andreas sein Leben. Ihn packt eine Sehnsucht, die zwischen Heimweh und Fernweh nicht mehr unterscheidet. Er wirft alles hin, verkauft seine Wohnung und kündigt seine Stelle in Paris, um nach einem halben Leben zu der Frau zurückzukehren, die er einmal geliebt hat. Die Gleichheit der Tage war sein einziger Halt, jetzt hofft er auf ein Wunder und darauf, dass alles neu beginnt. Seine Reise führt ihn in die Provinz seiner Jugend und wieder weg bis ans Ufer des Atlantiks, in die Arme einer Frau, deren Liebe er beinah verspielt hatte.

"Unformed Landscape" begins in a small village on a fjord in the Finnmark, on the northeastern coast of Norway, where the borders between Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia lie covered in snow and darkness, where the real borders are between day and night, summer and winter, and between people. Here, a sensitive young woman like Kathrine finds few outlets for her desires. Half Norwegian, half Sami (an indigenous people), Kathrine works for the customs office inspecting the fishing boats arriving regularly in the harbor. She is in her late 20s, has a son from an early marriage, and has drifted into a second loveless marriage to a man whose cold and dominating conventionality forms a bold stroke through the unformed landscape of her life. After she makes a discovery about her husband that deeply wounds her, Kathrine cuts loose from her moorings and her confusion and sets off in search of herself. Her journey begins aboard a ship headed south, taking her below the Arctic Circle for the first time in her life. Kathrine makes her way to France and has the bittersweet experience of a love affair that flares and dies quickly, her starved senses rewarded by the shimmering beauty of Paris. Through a series of poignant encounters, Kathrine is led to the richer life she was meant to have and is brave enough to claim. Using simple words strung together in a melodic alphabet, Peter Stamm introduces us, through a series of intimate sketches, to the heart of an unforgettable woman. Her story speaks eloquently about solitude, the fragility of love, lost illusions, and self-discovery.

"Unformed Landscape" begins in a small village on a fjord in the Finnmark, on the northeastern coast of Norway, where the borders between Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia lie covered in snow and darkness, where the real borders are between day and night, summer and winter, and between people. Here, a sensitive young woman like Kathrine finds few outlets for her desires. Half Norwegian, half Sami (an indigenous people), Kathrine works for the customs office inspecting the fishing boats arriving regularly in the harbor. She is in her late 20s, has a son from an early marriage, and has drifted into a second loveless marriage to a man whose cold and dominating conventionality forms a bold stroke through the unformed landscape of her life. After she makes a discovery about her husband that deeply wounds her, Kathrine cuts loose from her moorings and her confusion and sets off in search of herself. Her journey begins aboard a ship headed south, taking her below the Arctic Circle for the first time in her life. Kathrine makes her way to France and has the bittersweet experience of a love affair that flares and dies quickly, her starved senses rewarded by the shimmering beauty of Paris. Through a series of poignant encounters, Kathrine is led to the richer life she was meant to have and is brave enough to claim. Using simple words strung together in a melodic alphabet, Peter Stamm introduces us, through a series of intimate sketches, to the heart of an unforgettable woman. Her story speaks eloquently about solitude, the fragility of love, lost illusions, and self-discovery.