A Handful of Anecdotes

»It is hard to shake off one’s date of birth. M. drags his around with him, too.« The first twenty years of life are baggage that a person is forever stuck with. But memory is a fragmentary and untrustworthy guide. That is why the author avails himself of the freedom of stage director and collage-maker, gathering together themes, images, and anecdotes into an Opus incertum.

Through impressions, leaps and digressions, we follow the author’s memories of his childhood, youth and student days, from 1929 to the beginning of the 1950s. Hans Magnus Enzensberger writes subjectively, with energy, wittily and with deliberate gaps about family bonds and first love, an early passion for reading and an addiction to the media, a plethora of evasive manoeuvres around false authority, an unsuccessful foray into explosions, desertion, the black market and then the happiness in academic freedom at university.

» ... he is not only one of the most influential German intellectuals in the international cultural sector, but also one of the most restless. ... He always has his finger on the pulse of things. He is versatile, funny, quick. ... With his anecdotes Hans Magnus Enzensberger has given us one of the finest of his late books.« Manfred Papst, Neue Zürcher Zeitung am Sonntag

»The entertaining memoirs of a highly gifted man by and large confirm the image of a nimble, alert and torn Hans Magnus Enzensberger.« Iris Radisch, DIE ZEIT

»Enzensberger’s autobiography is enjoyable, offers a lot of food for thought, is excellently designed…« Dirk von Petersdorff, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

»This enjoyable, often warmhearted book written by a grieving conservative seems, surprisingly and probably unintentionally, like a challenge to interpret dreams, to voice what has been suppressed. And this is necessary, because the younger generation can no longer afford the convenience of staying unassailable and shrugging off relevant social questions as ›political correctness‹.« Insa Wilke, Süddeutsche Zeitung

»This much is certain: You can’t but show deepest admiration for such a nonchalant way of life so averse to any ostentation.« Knut Cordsen, Deutschlandfunk Kultur

»Enzensberger knows how to turn himself into a sly rogue. The fun he has taking himself to task is contagious. How subtly he slips his readers the history lessons! All of this together – is an artform.« Roland Gutsch, Nordkurier

»Playful, associative and witty« neues deutschland

»[Enzensberger] has long since moved into his own literary sphere and keeps surprising us with books we may process and enjoy.« Frank Dietschreit, Mannheimer Morgen

»With a few words and aided by a few family photos and other illustrations, Enzensberger manages to transport the reader to the period of the ‘30s to the mid-‘50s.« Tobias Wenzel, NDR

»HME has long since become a brand that stands for an unusual combination of literary seriousness, intellectual brilliance and a playful attitude. His message – almost provocative these days – is: Education is fun!« Steffen Radlmaier, Nürnberger Nachrichten