The Hothouse

I’ve had this book on the shelf for awhile. Reason to read it now is that is is the BOTM for March 2022 in Reading 1001. This book is a post WWII novel by German author Wolfgang Koeppen. It was published in 1953 (my birth year). The main character is a person who managed to avoid being a soldier in WWII and has now returned and is in politics. The story describes the political nuances of Germany after the war. The main character is also grieving the death of his wife who was a victim of the war having lost both her parents. I found the novel difficult to engage.

Quotes:
Pg. 133 “…in the way that metropolises take a man out of his neighborhood and make him alone,…”

I suspect that this novel does belong on the 1001 Books list, show more nevertheless, it was a chore to read and worked well to initiate sleep. I’m glad I finally read it and I hope to never read it again (tho I agree a reread would probably be helpful). I think as a novel that discusses politics it is probably pretty accurate, I also think the author’s look at war, the profits of war, the profits of commercialism, and the depiction of the “happy family” were elements that were good. Parts of the book reminded me of James Joyce. It is mostly SOC. The mood of the novel is dark, sense of failure, and hopeless. show less

Keetenheuve is suffering from depression. His situation seems like a mirror of the german society shortly after WWII. There is no hope for real improvement, especially for honesty, which he tries to bring into the new government. He had committed himself totally to his work and because of this he lost his love Elke. So he now suffers a double loss. Which is unbearable and he fails to share this with any other person. He takes distance to everyone/thing. Experiencing nothing but his inability and accentuating this with alcohol he committs suicide. What a shame that no one steps up in the story to ask him about his sufferings, or that he finds a new way to live his ideals that are now drowned with him in the Rhine.
The way of writing is show more beautiful to me, it flows constantly and it is like hearing a song inside while you read. show less

Not bad, but a bit too cod-modernist-trickstery compared to Death in Rome. Perhaps I should have read it when I was younger and more impressed by disconnected paragraphs in italics, because under all of that kind of thing is a really solid slab of pessimism.

Das Treibhaus Koeppens zweiter Nachkriegs-Roman und der zweite in der "Trilogie des Scheiterns" stellt größere Anforderungen noch als "Tauben im Gras" an den Leser, da es sich auf Begegnungen, Beziehungen und Gedanken in einigen Tagen im Leben nur einer Person konzentriert: Keetenheuve, Bundestagsabgeordneter in den ersten Jahren nach dem Krieg. Er gehört der Oppositionspartei an, ist einflußreich, doch wird oft als ein unbequemer Störenfried angesehen. Eine gewisse Empathie für diesen Mann ist nötig um das Interesse nicht zu verlieren. Diese kann wohl nur durch Lebenserfahrung aufkommen. So scheint mir dieser Roman nichts für junge Leser zu sein: bittere Erfahrungen des Lebens sollte er oder sie bereits gemacht haben, Kämpfe show more bestritten, Ziele verfehlt, Hoffnungen gehabt und Enttäuschungen erlebt, Freundschaft und Liebe erfahren und verloren, Zeiten der Resignation entkommen. Du must bereit sein für dieses Buch.
Die Bonner Nachkriegspolitik, in der Keetenheuve verstrickt ist: "… von der Gewaltenteilung, die Montesquieu gefordert hatte, [war] schon lange nicht mehr die Rede. … Die Mehrheit diktierte. … Der Bürger hatte nur noch zu wählen, unter welcher Diktatur er leben wolle. Die Politik des kleineren Übels, …" (374)
Außerdem setzt der Roman Interesse an der deutschen 'Vergangenheitsbewältigung', den Möglichkeiten und der tatsächlich von Adenauer verfolgten Bonner Nachkriegspolitik voraus.
Kein Wunder, dass es nicht allzuviele Leser gefunden hat. (XII-25) show less

In het kader van de lees/conversatieclub Duits moeten lezen. Besteld bij Amazon.de. Het bleek in een trilogie te zitten, samen met Der Tod in Rom en Tauben im Gras. Dat kwam goed uit, want lg. titel stond ook op het programma. We hebben samen ook naar de film van dit boek gekeken. Ik vond het gemakkelijker dan die Tauben, maar minder spannend. Al past dat woord niet zo goed bij deze Li-te-ra-tuur.