My First Homestory: Easter with Julia Wolf

April 08, 2018

The Germans have a certain fondness for inventing English words that wouldn’t otherwise exist. The word Handy (for cell or mobile phone) might be the most well-known example of this kind of pseudo-Anglicism. When Julia Wolf suggested my family and I come over for Easter, I immediately thought of the German word Homestory. Roughly analogous to a celebrity profile, this Denglish term was created by German-language media to describe a piece of journalism intended to depict the personal life of a celebrity in a positive light. Unfortunately, I won’t quite be able to fulfill usual expectations due to a lack of photos and because Julia might not be very famous – yet.

Reading an excerpt from Walter Nowak bleibt liegen [Walter Nowak Won’t Get Up ], Julia Wolf became one of the shooting stars of the annual Ingeborg Bachmann competition in 2016, winning the 3Sat Prize. The book-length version of the sad plight of a confused, retired businessman who whiles his time away swimming laps at the local pool was officially released in March of 2017 and widely lauded in the German press, even being debated in the illustrious Literarische Quartett television show. Unfortunately, no English-language publisher has bought the rights (publishers: feel free to ask me to translate if you do)! The slim novel of 160 pages is told entirely from the protagonist’s point of view. An early accident in the swimming pool leads to a long inner monologue that conveys his state of confusion and spotty memories. Walter Nowak Won’t Get Up is a very compelling portrayal of weakened, fragile masculinity and the unreliability of recollection.

I first met Julia after a reading in the context of the Leipzig Book Fair last year. She was in process of moving from Berlin, where she had spent most of her adult life, to Leipzig, where her partner, Benny, has a small production company. A couple years ago, Benny inherited some money and was able to buy a run-down apartment building in the now-gentrifying Volkmarsdorf area on the east side of Leipzig. They now live on the top floor with their darling son, who will be soon turning one.

There was a sumptuous vegetarian spread, which we supplemented with cheesecake. Midway through our first round of grazing, we were joined by Luise Maier, a young writer who had just moved to Leipzig from Biel, Switzerland. Her first novel Dass wir uns haben was published by Wallstein about a year ago. Our conversation revolved around comparisons of neighborhoods and cities, transitions, and what it feels like to wrap up a big project. Anna, my partner of some ten years, had handed in her doctoral dissertation less than two weeks before and both Julia and Luise could commiserate with that empty feeling, providing stories of staring at the wall and just not knowing what to do with yourself. Benny claimed his role in the film industry didn’t allow him the time to not know what to do. And I chimed in, but argued my emotional response as a translator was somewhat mitigated by feeling invisible to a certain degree.

At some point, there was a lull in the conversation and Julia offered a tour of the apartment. The DIY vibe, as well as the amount of sunlight streaming through the fourth floor windows, was refreshing. There could be a detailed description of every room and the requisite accoutrements, but the thing that stands out was Julia’s study. Judging by the clippings, pictures, and notes covering one wall, there are some interesting themes coming together for her third novel. I’m definitely looking forward to reading it when the time is right!

Later on, Anna, Julia, and Luise went ahead to the nearby Mariannenpark, hiding some eggs. And I followed a little later with the kids. Benny stayed behind to clean up (read: take a nap). After the eggs had been collected and we had been sucked into the playground vortex, Julia and Luise swapped tips and lessons learned from past writers residencies. Once we had made it back to the apartment, it was time for coffee and cake. And before the gathering dispersed, we had formed an impromptu book club. First round: the latest book by Angelika Klüssendorf and a novel of ideas by Connie Palmen. All in all, this Easter was very relaxed and enriching.


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