German Book Review: Hund, Wolf, Schakal by Behzad Karim Khani

Funny bookish story: As I was commuting while reading the last pages from Hund, Wolf, Schakal - Dog, Wolf, Jackal - today, at one of the stations closed to Neukölln, where the action of the novel takes place, someone came and sit by me while reading the same book. It never happened to me before to be seated near someone reading at the same time the book I reading.

The real book story: I am still under the influence of the book, a very interesting debut by Tehran-born Behzad Karim Khani. Saam and Nima arrive in Berlin with their father a communist, shortly after their mother was killed by the mullahs (isn´t it delightful how the German media is - finally - using this term to design the gerontocratic religious gang who for 43 years already took control over the life of 80 million people?) due her activity in the resistance. 

With the help of friends, they move to Neukölln: the kids are going to school while the father is working as a taxi driver. They seem to not miss anything, however, Saam and later Nima are caught into the net of local clans, mostly of Lebanese origin. For a long while, the story is built around Saam´s coming of age as a local street king, then he is ending up in prison for four years. Meanwhile, Nima is a grown up, and although he does not have a real connection with his brother, he is repeating his journey, although at a lower level - just drugs.

There are many aspects that are entincing in the book, especially the ways in which the characters interact. The inner dynamic of the story and the web of actions are captivating and helped me to continue reading when I was unhappy with the cracks in the story itself.

However, from the point of view of the stroy itself, there are many gaps and absences, and the characters do not react based on their personal story. The family life, for instance, is non-existent and the characters seem to have no interactions between themselves - unless in crisis situation. The family and friends environment, so dear to the Persian culture, is missing. It looks like the focus is mostly on what they are supposed to become instead of their real presence within the time of the story. 

There may be also some factual discrepancies. For instance, there are mentioned some ´Zigeuner´- Roma people - living in Neukölln, which is a reality right now, but only since the last 2 decades or so. During the Berlin Wall, they weren´t living there, for sure. And talking about the Berlin Wall: the family arrived in Neukölln which was at the time West, but it is mentioned how they used to go to the Soviet cemetery, which was also Neukölln, but Treptow side, on the other side of the Wall. No matter how communist they were, there were some movement limits and there are no specific mentions about how the commuting took place.

Behzad Karim Khani which when he is not writing is in charge of Lugosi Bar in Kreuzberg created emotional moments and unforgettable characters. For a debut roman is nevertheless an outstanding achievement and I hope there are more novels in the making.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Book Review: Dschinns by Fatma Aydemir

Dschinns by journalist and writer Fatma Aydemir was for me one of the most expected books to read this year. Although my literary interests are unlimited, I am always interested in getting to know the literature of the place I am living, as a reflection of the ongoing changes and mentalities. 

The novel is made of different stories of the members of the same Turkish family. They moved to Germany, in an imaginary Rheinstadt - allusion to the use of Turkish workforce in the once industrial area around the Rhine river - in the 1970s. The story starts at the end of the 1990s, when the patriarch of the family, Hüseyn dies of a heart attack in his apartment in Istanbul, his dream made up with the money he earned in Germany. 

The rest of the story gives voice on different levels to his wife and children, although slightly different in terms of identity. Women are rather playing the role of voiceless participants, similarly to the djins, terms used in the Middle East for ghosts. 

The author manages perfectly to calibrate the story, the personal testimonies with the socio-historical context and the references to the Fremdfeindlichkeit - or simply said, xenophobia. It is admirably played on multiple voices and levels, unique not only for the topic addressed - inter-generational stories of Turkish families in Germany - but also from the point of view of the literary dynamic itself. 

The success of Dschinns is a good news not only for the representatives of the Turkish-German society, rarely represented in literature and arts in general until now, but also for the German society itself. After more than a generation, it finally acknowledges the ´Otherness´ of their own society, other than by dismissing as ´primitive´ everything who does not look like themselves. It is a positive step towards, maybe, a more open society, aware and eventually proud of its diversity.

The novel was on the short list of the Deutsche Buchpreis 2022 and personally I put on my bets on it. I am sure the winner is equally outstanding - and on my TBR as well - but I can only wish that there will be more and more authors like Aydemir on the lists - longs or shorts - of the German literary prizes.

Rating: 5 stars