Olivia Wenzel

1000 Serpentinen Angst

Priscilla Layne

A Novel

1,000 Coils of Fear

Mit hjerte er en automat

'I have more privilege than any person in my family. And I'm still screwed.' From award-winning author Olivia Wenzel comes a captivating and unsettling literary debut about race, politics, feminism, motherhood, nationality and enduring love.A young woman attends a play about the Berlin Wall coming down and is the only Black person in the audience. She is sitting with her boyfriend by a bathing lake and sees four neo-Nazis approaching. In New York, she witnessed Trump's election victory in a strange hotel room.Angry and passionate, the narrator looks at our rapidly changing times and also tells the story of her family: her mother, who was a punk in East Germany and never had the freedom she dreamed of, her absent Angolan father and her twin brother, who died when they were seventeen.Emotional and funny, Olivia Wenzel writes about loneliness and finding joy in life within the roles that society assigns you. 1000 Coils of Fear is a highly original novel both powerfully poetic and full of surprises.What readers are saying about Olivia Wenzel:'Opens your eyes about what it means to be different... This book is a must.' Reader review, 5 stars'Captivating... She doesn't hide anything, that's the lasting impression of this impressive, relentless, tender novel.' Faz'Ingenious... I can only highly recommend the novel to you.' Reader review, 5 stars'No other German-language novel describes so impressively how Germany can often feel for marginalised people.' ND Aktuell'Arguably last year's best German novel.' Los Angeles Review of Books'Always exciting and even entertaining.' SWR2'Everyone should read this book... One of the best books of 2020.' Deutschlandfunk Kultur'Funny, despite the dark foundation... The work of an author who admirably stubbornly confronts her traumas.' Woz

1000 Coils of Fear

"A multilayered and rhythmic debut novel about her life as a Black German woman living in Berlin and New York during the chaos of the 2016 U.S. presidential election from playwright Olivia Wenzel. A young woman attends a play about the fall of the Berlin Wall--and realizes she is the only Black person in the audience. She and her boyfriend are hanging out by a lake outside Berlin--and four neo-Nazis show up. In New York, she is having sex with a stranger on the night of the 2016 presidential election--and wakes up to panicked texts from her friends in Germany about Donald Trump's unlikely victory. Engaging in a witty Q&A with herself--or is it her alter ego?--she takes stock of our rapidly changing times, sometimes angry, sometimes amused, sometimes afraid, and always passionate. And she tells the story of her family: Her mother, a punk in former East Germany who never had the freedom she dreamed of. Her Angolan father, who returned to his home country before she was born to start a second family. Her grandmother, whose life of obedience to party principles brought her prosperity and security but not happiness. And her twin brother, who took his own life at the age of nineteen. Heart-rending, opinionated, and wry, Olivia Wenzel's remarkable debut novel is a clear-sighted and polyphonic investigation into origins and belonging, the roles society wants to force us into and why we need to resist them, and the freedoms and fears that being the odd one out brings"--

'I have more privilege than any person in my family. And I'm still screwed.' A young woman attends a play about the Berlin Wall coming down, and is the only Black person in the audience. She is sitting with her boyfriend by a bathing lake, and four neo-Nazis show up. She is having sex with a stranger in New York, and Donald Trump wins the US presidential election. Engaging in a witty question and answer with herself, she takes stock of our rapidly changing times, sometimes angry, sometimes amused, sometimes afraid, and always passionate. And she tells the story of her family: Her mother, a punk in former East Germany who never had the freedom she dreamed of. Her Angolan father, who returned to his home country before she was born to start a second family. Her grandmother, whose life of obedience to party principles brought her prosperity and security but not happiness. And her twin brother, who took his own life at the age of nineteen. Heart-rending, opinionated, and wry, Olivia Wenzel's remarkable debut novel is a clear-sighted investigation into origins and belonging, the roles society wants to force us into and why we need to resist them, and the freedoms and fears that being the odd one out brings. 'So exuberant, inventive, brainy, sensitive and hilarious that it's like a pyrotechnic flare illuminating the whole woman, past and present, radiant, unique, a voice and a novel to take with us into the future.' FRANCISCO GOLDMAN, author of Monkey Boy 'Bold and exceptional . . . Her impressive writing, born of a brilliant mind, surprises - stylistically, and by its frankness and associations . . . I rode in the passenger seat, beside the beauty and strangeness of 1000 Coils of Fear.' LYNNE TILLMAN, author of Men and Apparitions and Mothercare 'An audacious and disturbing novel.' MICHELLE DE KRETSER, author of Scary Monsters 'An exciting, confident debut.' Publishers Weekly 'Impressive, relentless, tender.' Faz

A multilayered and rhythmic debut novel about her life as a Black German woman living in Berlin and New York during the chaos of the 2016 U.S. presidential election from playwright Olivia Wenzel. A young woman attends a play about the fall of the Berlin Wall—and realizes she is the only Black person in the audience. She and her boyfriend are hanging out by a lake outside Berlin—and four neo-Nazis show up. In New York, she is having sex with a stranger on the night of the 2016 presidential election—and wakes up to panicked texts from her friends in Germany about Donald Trump’s unlikely victory. Engaging in a witty Q&A with herself—or is it her alter ego?—she takes stock of our rapidly changing times, sometimes angry, sometimes amused, sometimes afraid, and always passionate. And she tells the story of her family: Her mother, a punk in former East Germany who never had the freedom she dreamed of. Her Angolan father, who returned to his home country before she was born to start a second family. Her grandmother, whose life of obedience to party principles brought her prosperity and security but not happiness. And her twin brother, who took his own life at the age of nineteen. Heart-rending, opinionated, and wry, Olivia Wenzel’s remarkable debut novel is a clear-sighted and polyphonic investigation into origins and belonging, the roles society wants to force us into and why we need to resist them, and the freedoms and fears that being the odd one out brings.

Fiston Mwanza Mujila

Lukas Rietzschel

Falk Richter

Caren Jeß

Yade Yasemin Önder

Das Theater weiß um die Macht von Sprache. Nicht ohne Grund hat es den Dialog zum Kern seiner literarischen Identität gemacht - die Dramatik. Wenn das Gespräch das Herz des Theaters ist, dann ist die zeitgenössische Dramatik sein Blutkreislauf. In der Dramatischen Rundschau 03 geben Theatertexte von Caren Jeß, Fiston Mwanza Mujila, Yade Yasemin Önder, Falk Richter, Lukas Rietzschel und Olivia Wenzel davon Zeugnis. Folgende Stücke sind in der Dramatischen Rundschau 03 nachzulesen: Caren Jeß: Die Katze Eleonore / Fiston Mwanza Mujila: Der Garten der Lüste / Yade Yasemin Önder: Die Worte gehören uns / Falk Richter: Fünf gelöschte Nachrichten / Lukas Rietzschel: Widerstand / Olivia Wenzel: mais in deutschland & anderen galaxien.

Olivia Wenzel

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