The first of Peter Bichsel‘s P.S.-columns, which have become an institution sui generis over the course of four decades, was published in Zurich’s Tages-Anzeiger in 1975. But even in the 1960s, the author had been writing numerous journalistic contributions and columns on questions of the times, that accompanied his early successes as a literary storyteller. Beat Mazenauer has gathered them in this volume – and has added a few narrative explorations from that...
The first of Peter Bichsel‘s P.S.-columns, which have become an institution sui generis over the course of four decades, was published in Zurich’s Tages-Anzeiger in 1975. But even in the 1960s, the author had been writing numerous journalistic contributions and columns on questions of the times, that accompanied his early successes as a literary storyteller. Beat Mazenauer has gathered them in this volume – and has added a few narrative explorations from that time.
Over the years, Peter Bichsel has developed his own dialectics of perception. It admits the contradictory and in the ongoing movement of thoughts it always keeps an eye on their failures as well. Bichsel, who asks and questions, is, according to Beat Mazenauer, a master of delaying »final« answers.
»[…] particularly with its complete lack of technical jargon and professional incantations, without any actualistic antics and casual mnemonics [the book] makes familar what has become strange, is a comment on the relationship between art and power, mirrored manifold and defying the pressure of topicality but leading to a deeper understanding of the present.« der Freitag
»an enlightening and enjoyable read« Hans Ulrich Probst, WOZ
»What has always distinguished Bichsel’s texts and stories is his ability to empathise with his characters and a deliberate, careful way of showing readers his own position.« Hermann Koch, Zeitung Zürich
»[…] particularly with its complete lack of technical jargon and professional incantations, without any actualistic antics and casual mnemonics [the book] makes familar what has become strange, is a comment on the relationship between art and power, mirrored manifold and defying the pressure of topicality but leading to a deeper understanding of the present.« der Freitag
»an enlightening and enjoyable read« Hans Ulrich Probst,...
Talking about the weather, about anything, that is. Being understood, even if it’s just by someone who doesn’t even speak my language. Peter Bichsel’s columns can strike up a conversation with...
Uzbekistan (Turon-Iqbol)
Peter Bichsel tells the story of Cherubin Hammer, who thinks that he is a writer and is trying, unsucessfully, to live the biography of a writer. He confronts him with a second Cherubin hammer, a...
France (Héros-Limite)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Italy (Marcos y Marcos)
Whether he talks about the suffering of professional footballers or about a strange journey on a train through Egypt, whether he chats about life in New York or an old postman who delivered his...
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Italy (Marcos y Marcos)
»I believe«, says Peter Bichsel, »that the importance of literature lies not in conveying content but in maintaining storytelling. Because people need stories to survive. They...
Thailand (Gamme Magie Éditions), Azerbaijan (Alatoran), Iran (Nashr-i Naw)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: French rights (Éditions d’en bas), Italy (Marcos y Marcos), Norway (Gyldendal Norsk), Turkey (Ayrac), India (Bengali, Tarjama Books), India (English, Tarjama Books), Israel (Babel)
Buzzard is a rich, homesick native of Solothurn with whose money Solothurn’s historic city centre is »beautified« (and made unlivable). Buzzard, however, is also the name of the...
French rights (Éditions d’en bas), Italy (Casagrande)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Spanish world rights (Espasa Calpe), Norway (Damm & Søn)
Peter Bichsel‘s five lectures from 1982 are not actually lectures but stories about lectures. They are refreshingly unpretentious and always exceedingly subtle – just as his works of fiction. At...
Turkey (Ketebe)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Italy (Comma 22), Denmark (Gyldendal), Sweden (Janus), Croatia (Naklada MD)
Catalan rights (Los Cuarto), France (Attila), Finland (Otava), Korea (Wisdomhouse), Japan (Asahi), Thailand (Gamme Magie Éditions), Slovakia (Milanium), Lithuania (Pamėginčius), Turkey (Ketebe), Azerbaijan (Alatoran), Iran (Aftabkaran)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: UK (Calder & Boyars), USA (Delacorte), Spanish world rights (Santillana), Basque rights (Erein), Galician rights (Edición Obraidoro), Brazilian Portuguese rights (Atica), Portuguese rights (selection; ASA), Italy (Marcos y Marcos), Romanic rights (Uniun dals Grischs), Netherlands (Van Goor), Denmark (Gyldendal), Sweden (Norstedt & Söner), Norway (Gyldendal Norsk), Poland (Longin Studio), Czech Republic (Host), Hungary (Holnap), Romania (RAO), Estonia (Kirijastus Ilmamaa), Croatia (Stajer-Graf), Serbia (Draganic), Slovenia (LUD Literatura), Greece (Ekdoseis Epikuros), Macedonia (Kultura), Ukraine (Golovna Specializovana Redakcija), Belorussia (Logvinau), Georgia (Bakur Sulakauri), India (Hindi; Saar Sansaar), India (Urdu; Punjab Book Department)
This the story of a house, an ordinary residential house, and the people and objects in it. The author raises the inventory and he invents a character, who is called Kieninger. Kieninger rents a...
France (Gallimard), Turkey (Ketebe)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Italy (Comma 22), Netherlands (Meulenhoff), Denmark (Arena), Sweden (Norstedt), Korea (Bookstory), Poland (Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy), Czech Republic (Odeon)
Catalan rights (Lleonard Muntaner Editor), Thailand (Gamme Magie Éditions), Georgia (Intelekti), Iran (Aftabkaran)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: UK (Calder & Boyars), Spanish world rights (Espasa Calpe), France (Gallimard), Italy (Marcos y Marcos), Denmark (Gyldendal), Sweden (Norstedt & Söner), Norway (Gyldendal Norsk), Korea (Munhakdongne), Hungary (Bookart), Croatia (Mlinarec & Plavic), Slovenia (LUD Literatura), Turkey (Kabalci), Greece (Grammata), Belorussia (Logvinau)