 First edition of the book | |
| Author | Patrick Süskind |
|---|---|
| Translator | Michael Hofmann |
| Cover artist | Jean-Jacques Sempé |
| Language | German |
| Genre | Novella with autobiographical elements |
| Set in | fictional village in Germany, 1950s |
| Publisher |
|
Publication date | 1991 |
| Media type | |
The Story of Mr Sommer (Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer) is a novella in German by Patrick Süskind, published in 1991, dealing with memories of childhood in a village in Germany. The book was illustrated by Jean-Jacques Sempé. It was translated into English by Michael Hofmann.
History
After Süskind had written Perfume about a serial killer in 1985, [1] [2] and The Pigeon as a kafkaesque story in 1987, he turned to a boy's childhood memories in Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer. The book is related to the author's own childhood in a village on Lake Starnberg, reviewed at around age 40. [3] [4] [5] Jeffrey Adams, a scholar of media studies, described it as "a children's tale for adults" in its entry in The Literary Encyclopedia. [6]
The book was richly illustrated by drawings by Jean-Jacques Sempé, [7] and published by Diogenes in Zürich in 1991. A translation into English by Michael Hofmann, The Story of Mr Sommer, was first published by Fox, Finch & Tepper in Bath. [8] It was published by Bloomsbury Publishing as a paperback in 2003.
Plot and themes
Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer is told in the first person by a man aged around 40, remembering growing up in a fictional village in Germany after World War II. [4] The narration features elements reminiscent of fairy-tales of the Brothers Grimm, [6] such as the boy being sure he could fly if only he was determined enough. [8] It is written as if told spontaneously, [9] described as a "beguiling, unsentimental account of childhood in rural Germany" [8] of a "clever, imaginative, logical and lonely little boy". [8] He remembers living away from other children, being attracted to his classmate Carolina, and enduring piano lessons that he reached riding his mother's bike, too large for him. [8]
The narrator meets an unusual man, Herr Sommer, who is described as from the same village where the boy lives but on restless permanent wanderings (Wanderschaft), [10] from early morning until late at night. [5] Three meetings are described in detail. The first occurs during a terrible storm and hail when the boy and his father, returning from a horse race by car, offer him a ride, and he utters the only spoken phrase quoted in the book: "Ja so laßt mich doch endlich in Frieden!" ("Why don’t you just leave me in peace!"). [5] [8] [10] The boy meets him again, watching from a high tree which he climbed with the idea of ending his life by jumping; Mr Sommer unusually interrupts his walk, lies down in the grass and lets go a gruesome long groan ("a hollow anguished sound from deep within his chest") [8] that makes the boy forget his intentions. [5] In the end, the boy watches the man walk into the lake where he drowns, as Ludwig II of Bavaria died. The boy keeps it to himself. [3] [5] [7]
Publication
- Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer. Mit Bildern von Sempé. Diogenes, Zürich 1991, ISBN 3-257-01895-9. (first edition)
- Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer. Mit Bildern von Sempé. Diogenes, Zürich 1994, ISBN 3-257-22664-0. (paperback)
- The Story of Mr Sommer. translated by Michael Hofmann, Fox, Finch & Tepper, ISBN 978-0-99-304672-8
- The Story of Mr Sommer. Bloomsbury Publishing 2003, ISBN 0-7475-6675-5 (paperback)
- Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer. Mit Bildern von Sempé. Diogenes, Zürich 2012, ISBN 978-3-257-05728-7. (new edition)
- Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer. 2 audio CDs, read by Hans Korte. Diogenes, Zürich 2006, ISBN 3-257-80017-7. (audio book)
References
- ^ Gray, Richard T. (1993). "The Dialectic of "Enscentment": Patrick Süskind's Das Parfum as Critical History of Enlightenment Culture". PMLA. 108 (3): 489–505. doi: 10.2307/462617. ISSN 0030-8129. JSTOR 462617.
- ^ Pike, Laurie (2013-11-04). "'Perfume: The Story of a Murderer' to Reshow With Newly Created Scent Track". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
- ^ a b Der Spiegel 1991.
- ^ a b Julin 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Dresler 2022.
- ^ a b Adams 2005.
- ^ a b Zimmermann 2004.
- ^ a b c d e f g Battersby 2015.
- ^ Wunderlich 2002.
- ^ a b Bopp 2012.
Cited sources
- Adams, Jeffrey T. (19 July 2005). "Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer [The Story of Mr Sommer]". The Literary Encyclopedia. The Literary Dictionary Company Limited. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
- Battersby, Eileen (21 November 2015). "The Story of Mr Sommer review: sadness in soaring". Irish Times. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- Bopp, Lena (21 January 2012). "Unsere Romanhelden : Herr Sommer". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- Dresler, Nastasja (2022). "Zirkel um den See". literaturportal-bayern.de (in German). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- Julin, Hanna (2017). "Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer – ein hybrider Text" (PDF) (in German). Linnaeus University. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- Wunderlich, Dieter (2002). "Patrick Süskind : Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer" (in German). dieterwunderlich.de. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- Zimmermann, Philipp (3 November 2004). "Die Rätselhaftigkeit eines alten Sonderlings". rezensionen.ch (in German). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- "Riß in der Idylle". Der Spiegel (in German). 28 October 1991. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
External links
- Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer (in German) Diogenes 1993
|
First edition of the book | |
| Author | Patrick Süskind |
|---|---|
| Translator | Michael Hofmann |
| Cover artist | Jean-Jacques Sempé |
| Language | German |
| Genre | Novella with autobiographical elements |
| Set in | fictional village in Germany, 1950s |
| Publisher |
|
Publication date | 1991 |
| Media type | |
The Story of Mr Sommer (Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer) is a novella in German by Patrick Süskind, published in 1991, dealing with memories of childhood in a village in Germany. The book was illustrated by Jean-Jacques Sempé. It was translated into English by Michael Hofmann.
History
After Süskind had written Perfume about a serial killer in 1985, [1] [2] and The Pigeon as a kafkaesque story in 1987, he turned to a boy's childhood memories in Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer. The book is related to the author's own childhood in a village on Lake Starnberg, reviewed at around age 40. [3] [4] [5] Jeffrey Adams, a scholar of media studies, described it as "a children's tale for adults" in its entry in The Literary Encyclopedia. [6]
The book was richly illustrated by drawings by Jean-Jacques Sempé, [7] and published by Diogenes in Zürich in 1991. A translation into English by Michael Hofmann, The Story of Mr Sommer, was first published by Fox, Finch & Tepper in Bath. [8] It was published by Bloomsbury Publishing as a paperback in 2003.
Plot and themes
Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer is told in the first person by a man aged around 40, remembering growing up in a fictional village in Germany after World War II. [4] The narration features elements reminiscent of fairy-tales of the Brothers Grimm, [6] such as the boy being sure he could fly if only he was determined enough. [8] It is written as if told spontaneously, [9] described as a "beguiling, unsentimental account of childhood in rural Germany" [8] of a "clever, imaginative, logical and lonely little boy". [8] He remembers living away from other children, being attracted to his classmate Carolina, and enduring piano lessons that he reached riding his mother's bike, too large for him. [8]
The narrator meets an unusual man, Herr Sommer, who is described as from the same village where the boy lives but on restless permanent wanderings (Wanderschaft), [10] from early morning until late at night. [5] Three meetings are described in detail. The first occurs during a terrible storm and hail when the boy and his father, returning from a horse race by car, offer him a ride, and he utters the only spoken phrase quoted in the book: "Ja so laßt mich doch endlich in Frieden!" ("Why don’t you just leave me in peace!"). [5] [8] [10] The boy meets him again, watching from a high tree which he climbed with the idea of ending his life by jumping; Mr Sommer unusually interrupts his walk, lies down in the grass and lets go a gruesome long groan ("a hollow anguished sound from deep within his chest") [8] that makes the boy forget his intentions. [5] In the end, the boy watches the man walk into the lake where he drowns, as Ludwig II of Bavaria died. The boy keeps it to himself. [3] [5] [7]
Publication
- Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer. Mit Bildern von Sempé. Diogenes, Zürich 1991, ISBN 3-257-01895-9. (first edition)
- Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer. Mit Bildern von Sempé. Diogenes, Zürich 1994, ISBN 3-257-22664-0. (paperback)
- The Story of Mr Sommer. translated by Michael Hofmann, Fox, Finch & Tepper, ISBN 978-0-99-304672-8
- The Story of Mr Sommer. Bloomsbury Publishing 2003, ISBN 0-7475-6675-5 (paperback)
- Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer. Mit Bildern von Sempé. Diogenes, Zürich 2012, ISBN 978-3-257-05728-7. (new edition)
- Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer. 2 audio CDs, read by Hans Korte. Diogenes, Zürich 2006, ISBN 3-257-80017-7. (audio book)
References
- ^ Gray, Richard T. (1993). "The Dialectic of "Enscentment": Patrick Süskind's Das Parfum as Critical History of Enlightenment Culture". PMLA. 108 (3): 489–505. doi: 10.2307/462617. ISSN 0030-8129. JSTOR 462617.
- ^ Pike, Laurie (2013-11-04). "'Perfume: The Story of a Murderer' to Reshow With Newly Created Scent Track". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
- ^ a b Der Spiegel 1991.
- ^ a b Julin 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Dresler 2022.
- ^ a b Adams 2005.
- ^ a b Zimmermann 2004.
- ^ a b c d e f g Battersby 2015.
- ^ Wunderlich 2002.
- ^ a b Bopp 2012.
Cited sources
- Adams, Jeffrey T. (19 July 2005). "Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer [The Story of Mr Sommer]". The Literary Encyclopedia. The Literary Dictionary Company Limited. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
- Battersby, Eileen (21 November 2015). "The Story of Mr Sommer review: sadness in soaring". Irish Times. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- Bopp, Lena (21 January 2012). "Unsere Romanhelden : Herr Sommer". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- Dresler, Nastasja (2022). "Zirkel um den See". literaturportal-bayern.de (in German). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- Julin, Hanna (2017). "Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer – ein hybrider Text" (PDF) (in German). Linnaeus University. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- Wunderlich, Dieter (2002). "Patrick Süskind : Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer" (in German). dieterwunderlich.de. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- Zimmermann, Philipp (3 November 2004). "Die Rätselhaftigkeit eines alten Sonderlings". rezensionen.ch (in German). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- "Riß in der Idylle". Der Spiegel (in German). 28 October 1991. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
External links
- Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer (in German) Diogenes 1993