One book, two stories, one theme. Peter Härtling follows two characters: his alter ego, Robert Brodbeck, and the young painter Carl Philipp Fohr. One is an aging actor who travels through the republic giving readings; the other is a young Romantic painter who travels to Rome, where he launches an impressive career.
Both are always on the move and living life to the fullest. Fascinated by the idea of performing readings of the final works written by great writers, Brodbeck travels to Klütz. This small town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is the model for Uwe Johnson’s Jerichow, and Brodbeck plans to spend a summer there to deliver a reading of Johnson’s Jahrestage. It will be a summer of unexpected encounters – the wondrous blending of fiction and reality, of revival and exhaustion – and all followed by the next project: Fontane’s Stechlin in Potsdam.
Carl Philipp Fohr grows up in Heidelberg at the end of the 18th century. He’s at odds with school, and has only one dream: to become a painter. Thanks to some dedicated teachers and generous patrons, his talent is encouraged from an early age. However, eager to liberate himself from academic constraints, Fohr sets off for Rome, where he connects with a circle of German expats at Café Greco. He draws up a sketch for a large group portrait – one that, unfortunately, never comes to fruition.
As in his great artist novels, Peter Härtling writes of two men who dedicated themselves to art in a way that is sensitive, vivid and captivating.
