Matthias Zschokke

Der Mann mit den zwei Augen

«Pferde bewachen wechselseitig ihren Schlaf. Dies zu wissen beglückte ihn.»

Eidgenössische Literaturpreise 2012

He has two eyes and a nose: that's about all the main character reveals about himself in Matthias Zschokke's novel. He seems unremarkable, but still it's impossible to overlook him. "I will be wearing a coat, sand-coloured, and in my left hand I will probably be holding a small, sandy-coloured suitcase. I am of average height, have averagelength sand-coloured hair, and on my right will be a woman, about a head shorter than me, and whom you might as well picture as sandy-coloured too. We can't miss each other." Although he works as a court reporter, the man with two eyes has a strong aversion to anything unusual. He clearly prefers things to be normal and ordinary – and it is in that very ordinariness that he discovers the unusual, the beautiful, the sad, and the comical. He finds it everywhere: in a café or on the street, whether he is meeting strangers or acquaintances, whether he is on the move or at home with his wife, whom he met and fell in love with years ago at choir practice. Funny or tragic? What may at first seem banal, on closer inspection reveals hidden depths of meaning. Both Matthias Zschokke's novel and his protagonist inhabit the two extremes. In his writing, Zschokke is a master of the twists and turns, placing events and characters under a bright light in which they lose their familiarity and become extraordinary.
(Martin Zingg/Pro Helvetia)

Recommended for translation by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia: www.12swissbooks.ch

Translation of title: The Man with two Eyes

Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2012

ISBN: 978-3-8353-1111-4