About People
by Juli Zeh
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Written by Germany's #1 bestselling author Juli Zeh, About People takes place in the middle of lockdown in spring 2020 and subtly describes the social and very private consequences of the pandemic. Fleeing stay-at-home orders in the big city, Dora and her dog move to the countryside to sit out the pandemic. She knows that Bracken, a village in the middle of nowhere, isn't the idyll most city dwellers dream of, but she's desperate for space and a change of scene. The quaint old house she's show more saved up for needs work, weeds have taken over the yard, and her skinhead neighbor fits all the stereotypes. Just what is Dora really looking for? Distance from her boyfriend Robert, whose climate activism has crossed into obsession? Refuge from her inner turmoil? Clarity on how the whole world got so messed up? As Dora tries to keep her demons in check, unexpected things start happening all around her. Juli Zeh's epic new novel explores our present predicaments, biases, weaknesses, and fears, but--above all--it reveals the strengths that come to light when we dare to be human. show lessTags
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As the punning title already hints, this is another look at the rural Brandenburg setting of Zeh's previous novel Unter Leuten. But in the far from normal lockdown-spring of 2020, this time.
Thirtysomething copywriter Dora has fled Berlin after the stresses caused by two people working-from-home in the same small apartment opened up the existing cracks in her relationship with journalist and Greta-groupie Robert, and she and her dog are now camping out in the country house she bought a little while ago with a vague idea of doing it up. Fortunately, the village turns out to have good broadband, but it doesn't have much else apart from a volunteer fire brigade. She's fully expecting to get no welcome from the locals, who are obviously all show more going to be hardcore AfD voters conditioned to dislike everyone and everything that comes from Berlin...
And of course it turns out to be a little bit more complicated than that. In a village neighbours are neighbours, even if they have nothing else in common with you, and you can't simply ignore them as you might in a city. And in Dora's case the man next-door turns out to be an appalling neo-Nazi with a criminal record for violence, who also happens to be a good neighbour keen to help Dora get her place fixed up and habitable. And a skilled craftsman. Which doesn't in any way cancel out his repulsive views and harmful acts, but does force Dora to see him as a complex human being rather than as a sociopolitical type to be slotted into the "bad" category.
Dora folgt einer Unterhaltung über die Qualität der neuesten Mähroboter und denkt, wie wenig Polarisierung es in Wahrheit gibt. Kein Ost und West, unten und oben, links oder rechts. Weder Paradies noch Apokalypse, wie es Medien und Politik häufig schildern. Stattdessen Menschen, die beieinanderstehen. Die sich mehr oder weniger mögen. Die aufeinandertreffen und sich wieder trennen.
The moral seems to be that we lose out on the complexity of human characters as city-dwellers in our self-selected safe-spaces. Which is fair enough, and Zeh handles it elegantly and wittily, without ever falling into the trap of creating a "good Nazi". Along the way, she also has a lot of other clever and amusing observations of the strange ways German life has reacted to the Covid-19 crisis. Not as complex and comprehensive a novel as Unter Leuten, but still very rewarding. show less
Thirtysomething copywriter Dora has fled Berlin after the stresses caused by two people working-from-home in the same small apartment opened up the existing cracks in her relationship with journalist and Greta-groupie Robert, and she and her dog are now camping out in the country house she bought a little while ago with a vague idea of doing it up. Fortunately, the village turns out to have good broadband, but it doesn't have much else apart from a volunteer fire brigade. She's fully expecting to get no welcome from the locals, who are obviously all show more going to be hardcore AfD voters conditioned to dislike everyone and everything that comes from Berlin...
And of course it turns out to be a little bit more complicated than that. In a village neighbours are neighbours, even if they have nothing else in common with you, and you can't simply ignore them as you might in a city. And in Dora's case the man next-door turns out to be an appalling neo-Nazi with a criminal record for violence, who also happens to be a good neighbour keen to help Dora get her place fixed up and habitable. And a skilled craftsman. Which doesn't in any way cancel out his repulsive views and harmful acts, but does force Dora to see him as a complex human being rather than as a sociopolitical type to be slotted into the "bad" category.
Dora folgt einer Unterhaltung über die Qualität der neuesten Mähroboter und denkt, wie wenig Polarisierung es in Wahrheit gibt. Kein Ost und West, unten und oben, links oder rechts. Weder Paradies noch Apokalypse, wie es Medien und Politik häufig schildern. Stattdessen Menschen, die beieinanderstehen. Die sich mehr oder weniger mögen. Die aufeinandertreffen und sich wieder trennen.
The moral seems to be that we lose out on the complexity of human characters as city-dwellers in our self-selected safe-spaces. Which is fair enough, and Zeh handles it elegantly and wittily, without ever falling into the trap of creating a "good Nazi". Along the way, she also has a lot of other clever and amusing observations of the strange ways German life has reacted to the Covid-19 crisis. Not as complex and comprehensive a novel as Unter Leuten, but still very rewarding. show less
[b:About People|123286131|About People|Juli Zeh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679388429l/123286131._SY75_.jpg|89681633] is a pandemic novel from Germany, set during the profound weirdness of Spring 2020. As the book begins, the protagonist Dora has just broken up with her boyfriend and moved from Berlin to a tiny village with her dog. In her new home Dora attempts to work, start a vegetable garden, and interact with her few neighbours. Zeh is very good at capturing the zeitgeist of anxiety about neo-fascism, covid, and economic insecurity via Dora's daily life. Dora's defining characteristic is uncertainty and she struggles to understand why people around her seem to lack doubt. This makes her an show more observant and interesting protagonist. For example, her thoughts during a (probably forbidden during lockdown) family dinner with her father and brother:
Dora's ambivalent beliefs are challenged by the realisation that one of her new neighbours is a neo-nazi. I think Zeh handles this in a thoughtful manner, demonstrating both that nazis are just people and that the normalisation of nazism is dangerous and terrifying. She also conveys quite astutely the double-edged sword of ambivalence in an age of extremes:
Of course, Dora has the option of considering the 'opposing team' because she's white and German, not an immigrant or Muslim or Jewish. This gives her the luxury of ambivalence. Zeh's writing and the translation are clear and compelling. Zeh conveys the power of proximity and frequent interaction to build community between disparate people very well. The one detail I found baffling was that Dora, her father, her neighbour, and others are always smoking cigarettes. Has Germany not shifted towards vaping yet? Finally, I don't think the title should have been translated into English. The phrase 'About People' has none of the unsettling resonances of 'Über Menschen', a term that most English readers would surely recognise. show less
As Dora listens to her brother, once again, she can't help but think of Robert [her ex-boyfriend]. He and Axel are about the same age. Maybe these not-exactly-young-anymore men are the most vulnerable to being seized by the virus-fighter mentality. They get sucked in, viewing it as an all-or-nothing battle against the unthinkable alternative: complete loss of control. A declaration of war against the impertinent future, which insists on making you older by the day, and doing whatever else it fancies with your fate. Dora doesn't know a single woman who spreads panic like that. Then again, she doesn't know many people in general. But one thing's for sure: being a hardliner is a luxury that both Axel and Robert can afford. One is totally taken care of by his wife, and the other is making a killing off the media circus surrounding the pandemic.
Dora's ambivalent beliefs are challenged by the realisation that one of her new neighbours is a neo-nazi. I think Zeh handles this in a thoughtful manner, demonstrating both that nazis are just people and that the normalisation of nazism is dangerous and terrifying. She also conveys quite astutely the double-edged sword of ambivalence in an age of extremes:
She has begun wondering who other people vote for. What goes on behind the closed doors of their brains while they pick up their kids or go shopping. The sole certainty is that everyone is afraid, and everyone thinks their own fear is justified. Some are afraid of foreign infiltration, others of climate catastrophe. Some are afraid of pandemics, others of healthcare-based dictatorships. Dora fears that all these conflicting fears will be democracy's downfall. And, just like everyone else, she believes everyone else has gone crazy.
It's so damn exhausting. It'd be so much easier to just pick a side. Robert did, but she couldn't. Maybe she'd find it easier with the opposing team.
Of course, Dora has the option of considering the 'opposing team' because she's white and German, not an immigrant or Muslim or Jewish. This gives her the luxury of ambivalence. Zeh's writing and the translation are clear and compelling. Zeh conveys the power of proximity and frequent interaction to build community between disparate people very well. The one detail I found baffling was that Dora, her father, her neighbour, and others are always smoking cigarettes. Has Germany not shifted towards vaping yet? Finally, I don't think the title should have been translated into English. The phrase 'About People' has none of the unsettling resonances of 'Über Menschen', a term that most English readers would surely recognise. show less
Und noch ein Treffer - Juli Zeh kann einfach wunderbar kleine Dorfgemeinschaften beschreiben. In diesem Buch hat sie gleichzeitig noch wunderbar herausgearbeitet, was Corona mit dem eigenen Leben, den Beziehungen untereinander und ihren Blick auf andere gemacht hat.
Ich habe das Buch mit Begeisterung gelesen, wenn ich mich auch mit keiner der Figuren vollständig identifizieren konnte, und nehme es für mich als Mahnung, nicht ganz so schnell dabei zu sein, Menschen in Schubladen zu sortieren und auch mal zu versuchen, hinter die Fassade zu blicken.
Ich habe das Buch mit Begeisterung gelesen, wenn ich mich auch mit keiner der Figuren vollständig identifizieren konnte, und nehme es für mich als Mahnung, nicht ganz so schnell dabei zu sein, Menschen in Schubladen zu sortieren und auch mal zu versuchen, hinter die Fassade zu blicken.
I liked the plot a lot, and many of her points about group-think (especially on the left) really resonated with me. However the writing style was really hard for me to get into. The main character is very neurotic, and the author does a great job of showing us this through lots of paragraphs of her inner chatter; kudos for showing and not telling, but it doesn't make for good reading. For example, there will be 2 full pages of her spiraling thoughts between when someone says "hello" and her replying "hello". This might - might - have worked if those neurotic, scattered, spiraling thoughts were interesting, but they were not.
Fascinerend verhaal over een vrouw, Dora, die op het platteland gaat wonen in Coronatijd. Haar buurman stelt zich voor als de plaatselijke nazi en hij gedraagt zich ook wel zo. Maar toch komen ze langzaam nader tot elkaar. Dan blijkt de buurman ernstig ziek en hij rijdt tegen een boom. Over onwaarschijnlijke vriendschap, zorg voor het dochtertje, liefde voor de natuur.
Fazit zu gefällig mit vielen Klischees, auch Vater = Arzt // Stadt -Land, Coronamassnahmenleugner und Steonbeliever // Nazis vs Gutmenschen // Familie (= Bruder Axel) versus eigenständiges Leben, das dann aber doch nicht GEWOLLT ist // was bleibt ist der kleine Hund Jochen-der-Rochen // erster Regen, Tod von Grote, wenig Menschen, die Abschied nehmen vom Dorif-Nati, ist ok wg Corona
Werbesktion Stadt Gutmensch - Land Power-Flower (sehr gute Umkehr)
Werbesktion Stadt Gutmensch - Land Power-Flower (sehr gute Umkehr)
For nogle år siden læste jeg Udkanten, der er en misantropisk fortælling fra den østtyske provins, og jeg havde hørt, at Über Menschen skulle være en slags fortsættelse til den historie. Det er det ikke. Vi er stadig i landområderne omkring Berlin, men her er der ikke tale om en kollektivroman, og den nye bog er mere håbefuld på fællesskabets vegne.
Dora er en typisk berliner. Egentlig er hun født og opvokset i Münster i det gamle vest, men i en blanding af karriereambitioner og lyst til at komme væk fra provinsbyens trygge rammer er hun søgt til den nye hovedstad. Her færdes hun hjemmevant i den kreative klasse, der stemmer på de grønne, abonnerer på politisk korrekte holdninger og tjener gode lønninger som show more symbolanalytikere. Dora er konceptudvikler og manuskriptforfatter i reklamebranchen, hvor hun oven i købet er skiftet til et mere etisk reklamebureau, der mest reklamerer for genbrugs- og fair trade produkter. Sælges skal de jo alligevel.
På hjemmefronten går det skidt. Hun bor sammen med sin endnu mere idealistiske kæreste og hunden Jochen, og under corona-nedlukningerne går det helt galt. Kæresten sidder dagen lang og skriver dystopiske og i stigende grad konspiratoriske blogindlæg om epidemien, og den lille lejlighed føles pludselig meget trang, når hun også skal arbejde hjemmefra. Uden helt at vide hvordan har Dora pludselig købt en gammel ejendom i en flække, der hedder Brecken et par timers offentlig transport fra Berlin.
Det bliver en introduktion til en helt ny verden. Naboen til den ene side, Gote (egentlig Gotfred), præsenterer sig uden ironi som ”landsbynazisten” og uanset hvem hun taler med, så giver det sig selv, at man stemmer på AFD. Det handler ikke så meget om ideologiske standpunkter men mere en vrede over at blive overset og talt ned til af en elite, der har travlt med grøn omstilling, mens landdistrikterne udsultes og lokalsamfundets institutioner bryder sammen. Parallellerne til Dansk Folkepartis triumf i 2015 og talrige konflikter mellem land og by overalt i vesten er slående.
Og så er det alligevel ikke så slemt. Bag den aggressive facade er der et lokalsamfund som på mange måder er ret moderne – de to blomster- og aspargeskonger Tom og Steffen er ikke bare lokale entreprenører, de er også et homoseksuelt par, som ingen tager notits af – og hvor man kærer sig om hinanden. Det gælder også en nytilflytter som Dora, som der sikkert bliver grint lidt af i hjørnerne, men som også får hjælp til praktiske gøremål som buskrydning og indkøb.
Blandingen af højreekstrem selvpromovering og påtrængende hjælpsomhed kommer tydeligst til udtryk i Gote, som hun ikke bryder sig om, men som hun også har mere end svært ved at sætte grænser for. Han har en nøgle til Doras hus, som han nødigt giver fra sig, han kommer med stole til hendes umøblerede køkken, og han hjælper hende med at købe blomster og vægmaling. Og så har han pludselig besøg af sine AFD-venner. De drikker øl og synger ugenert den nazistiske Horst Wessel sang, mens Dora overvejer, om hun skal ringe efter politiet.
Alligevel bliver hun spundet mere og mere ind i Gotes liv. Det sker først gennem datteren Franzi, der bor hos ham under epidemien og som virker aldeles fortabt, og siden af bekymring for Gotes helbred, da det viser sig, at han er alvorligt syg. Pludselig bobler minderne om Doras mors død op til overfladen – men hvor meget kan og skal man engagere sig i en tilfældig nabos liv?
Über Menschen er en letlæst og underholdende bog om Tyskland af i dag. Zeh formår elegant at tegne konflikterne mellem land og by, mellem øst og vest og ikke mindst mellem Berlin og Brandenburg op, så man forstår dem, og hun formår at gøre det, så personerne ikke bare reduceres til arketyper. Tonen er som sagt mere optimistisk end i Udkanten, og det er egentlig befriende at se, hvordan der fortsat kan bygges fællesskab på tværs af samfundsskel – også selvom slutningen blev lige en tand for romantiserende til min smag. Men måske var det bare Doras nye selvbedrag at se Gote og Brecken idealiserende, ligesom hun tidligere havde dæmoniseret dem? show less
Dora er en typisk berliner. Egentlig er hun født og opvokset i Münster i det gamle vest, men i en blanding af karriereambitioner og lyst til at komme væk fra provinsbyens trygge rammer er hun søgt til den nye hovedstad. Her færdes hun hjemmevant i den kreative klasse, der stemmer på de grønne, abonnerer på politisk korrekte holdninger og tjener gode lønninger som show more symbolanalytikere. Dora er konceptudvikler og manuskriptforfatter i reklamebranchen, hvor hun oven i købet er skiftet til et mere etisk reklamebureau, der mest reklamerer for genbrugs- og fair trade produkter. Sælges skal de jo alligevel.
På hjemmefronten går det skidt. Hun bor sammen med sin endnu mere idealistiske kæreste og hunden Jochen, og under corona-nedlukningerne går det helt galt. Kæresten sidder dagen lang og skriver dystopiske og i stigende grad konspiratoriske blogindlæg om epidemien, og den lille lejlighed føles pludselig meget trang, når hun også skal arbejde hjemmefra. Uden helt at vide hvordan har Dora pludselig købt en gammel ejendom i en flække, der hedder Brecken et par timers offentlig transport fra Berlin.
Det bliver en introduktion til en helt ny verden. Naboen til den ene side, Gote (egentlig Gotfred), præsenterer sig uden ironi som ”landsbynazisten” og uanset hvem hun taler med, så giver det sig selv, at man stemmer på AFD. Det handler ikke så meget om ideologiske standpunkter men mere en vrede over at blive overset og talt ned til af en elite, der har travlt med grøn omstilling, mens landdistrikterne udsultes og lokalsamfundets institutioner bryder sammen. Parallellerne til Dansk Folkepartis triumf i 2015 og talrige konflikter mellem land og by overalt i vesten er slående.
Og så er det alligevel ikke så slemt. Bag den aggressive facade er der et lokalsamfund som på mange måder er ret moderne – de to blomster- og aspargeskonger Tom og Steffen er ikke bare lokale entreprenører, de er også et homoseksuelt par, som ingen tager notits af – og hvor man kærer sig om hinanden. Det gælder også en nytilflytter som Dora, som der sikkert bliver grint lidt af i hjørnerne, men som også får hjælp til praktiske gøremål som buskrydning og indkøb.
Blandingen af højreekstrem selvpromovering og påtrængende hjælpsomhed kommer tydeligst til udtryk i Gote, som hun ikke bryder sig om, men som hun også har mere end svært ved at sætte grænser for. Han har en nøgle til Doras hus, som han nødigt giver fra sig, han kommer med stole til hendes umøblerede køkken, og han hjælper hende med at købe blomster og vægmaling. Og så har han pludselig besøg af sine AFD-venner. De drikker øl og synger ugenert den nazistiske Horst Wessel sang, mens Dora overvejer, om hun skal ringe efter politiet.
Alligevel bliver hun spundet mere og mere ind i Gotes liv. Det sker først gennem datteren Franzi, der bor hos ham under epidemien og som virker aldeles fortabt, og siden af bekymring for Gotes helbred, da det viser sig, at han er alvorligt syg. Pludselig bobler minderne om Doras mors død op til overfladen – men hvor meget kan og skal man engagere sig i en tilfældig nabos liv?
Über Menschen er en letlæst og underholdende bog om Tyskland af i dag. Zeh formår elegant at tegne konflikterne mellem land og by, mellem øst og vest og ikke mindst mellem Berlin og Brandenburg op, så man forstår dem, og hun formår at gøre det, så personerne ikke bare reduceres til arketyper. Tonen er som sagt mere optimistisk end i Udkanten, og det er egentlig befriende at se, hvordan der fortsat kan bygges fællesskab på tværs af samfundsskel – også selvom slutningen blev lige en tand for romantiserende til min smag. Men måske var det bare Doras nye selvbedrag at se Gote og Brecken idealiserende, ligesom hun tidligere havde dæmoniseret dem? show less
May 14, 2026Danish
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- About People
- Original title
- Über Menschen
- Alternate titles*
- Braakgrond (werktitel) (werktitel)
- Original publication date
- 2021 (Duits) (Duits); 2021 (Nederlands) (Nederlands); 2023-10 (English) (English)
- People/Characters*
- Dora; Gote; Franchi; Jochie het hondje; Jojo, Dora's vader; Robert, Dora's vriend (show all 8); Axel, Dora's broer; Tom en Steffen, en Heini, buren
- Important places
- Bracken, Germany; Berlin, Germany; Germany
- Important events
- COVID-19 pandemic
- First words*
- Weitermachen. Nicht nachdenken.
- Original language
- German
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 830 — Literature & rhetoric German & related literatures German literature and literatures of related languages
- LCC
- PT2688 .E28 — Language and Literature German, Dutch and Scandinavian literatures German literature Individual authors or works 1961-2000
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