Bernhard Schlink
Gedanken über das Schreiben

English Title: Thoughts on Writing

»A tiny element of truth will suffice, as long as it does not profess to be more than it is.« In his Heidelberg Poetics Readings Thoughts on Writing (May–June 2010) the author Bernhard Schlink considered what moves him about the writing process, and which maxims hold most relevance for him. He takes his listeners along on the search for the rules, which guide his writing through the past, love and home. He gives answers to critical questions, both those, which he asks himself, and those posed by others. Is literature bound to truth? Are there particular obligations which literature about the Holocaust has to fulfil? Do protagonists who commit monstrous crimes have to be portrayed as monsters? Does an author love the characters he writes about? This title contains both self exploration and open discussion, impressive and informative for everyone interested in Bernhard Schlink as an author and in how good stories come into being.