I was looking for a contemporary German book to read, for German Literature Month hosted by Caroline from Beauty is a Sleeping Cat and Lizzy from Lizzy’s Literary Life. I was thinking about it when I discovered Wolfgang Herrndorf’s ‘Tschick‘. I got it and read the first page and then I couldn’t stop reading.
The story told in ‘Tschick‘ goes like this. Mike Klingenberg is fourteen years old and he is the narrator of the story. At the beginning of the story we find Mike in the hospital. There seem to be police with him too. We wonder why. Mike tells us what happened. Mike is a loner at school and doesn’t have many (or rather any) friends. The girl he likes, Tatiana, doesn’t know that he exists. Mike is good at some things – he is an ace high-jumper and a wonderful artist – but his talent is not noticed. A new boy called Tschick arrives in school one day. He seems to have a complex background and so everyone including Mike ignores him. At some point, something brings these two together and somehow they embark on a long road trip in an old stolen (or shall we say ‘borrowed’) car. What happens after that – the amazing adventures they have and the fascinating people they meet and how Mike ends up in the hospital and what happens after that – is narrated in the rest of the story.
I loved ‘Tschick‘. Mike is a wonderful narrator with an original, charming voice, a cool style, a wonderful sense of humour, and speaks his mind and doesn’t mince words. The pages flew because I loved the narrator’s voice. He made me remember all the great teenage / young narrators that I have encountered in some of my favourite novels, like ‘Treasure Island‘, ‘Kidnapped‘, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird‘, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time‘, ‘Unhooking the Moon‘, ‘The Pull of Gravity‘, ‘The Fault in Our Stars‘. Tschick, after whom the novel is named, is a fascinating character, and is one of the two main characters alongwith Mike. Tschick is quiet, but once we get to know him, we discover that he is cool, wise, is filled with surprises and there is more to him than meets the eye. The Mike–Tschick friendship is one of the most charming friendships that I have encountered in any story. The book is very engaging and fast-paced and there is no word wasted. The ending is beautiful but I can’t tell you what happened – you have to read the book yourself and find out.
I loved ‘Tschick‘ so much that I wanted to read more books by Wolfgang Herrndorf. When I went and did some research, I discovered that this was his first book which he published when he was forty-five, and it was a runaway bestseller. But tragically, he was diagnosed with an incurable form of brain tumour by that time, and he wrote just one more book called ‘Sand‘ soon after that and died three years later. He just had a three-year literary career. He burned bright like a comet, lighted up millions of readers’ hearts, and was gone before they could blink. It was heartbreaking to read. Why do good people always die young?
A small observation on the title. The German title of the book is ‘Tschick‘. The title of the English translation is ‘Why We Took the Car‘. I hate this modern British practice of changing the title of translated works and trying to summarize the book through the title. So I am sticking to the German title here. I like it more.
‘Tschick‘ is one of my favourite books of the year. I am glad it was a bestseller and got many accolades – it deserved every bit of that. I can’t wait to read Wolfgang Herrndorf’s ‘Sand‘ now.
I’ll leave you with some of my favourite passages from the book.
“It took two hours to reach the very top, but it was worth it. The view looked like a really great postcard. There was a giant wooden cross at the highest point, and below that a little cabin. The entire cabin was covered with carvings. We sat down there and read some of the letters and numbers cut into the wood: CKH 4/23/61, SONNY ’86, HARTMANN 1923. The oldest one we could find was: ANSELM WAIL 1903. Old letters cut into old, dark wood. And then the view and the warm summer air and the scent of hay wafting up from the valleys below. Tschick pulled out a pocketknife and started carving. As we talked and basked in the sun and watched Tschick carve, I kept thinking about the fact that in a hundred years we’d all be dead. Like Anselm Wail was dead. His family was all dead too. His parents were dead, his children were dead, everyone who ever knew him was dead. And if he ever made anything or built anything or left anything behind, it was probably dead as well — destroyed, blown away by two world wars — and the only thing left of Anselm Wail was his name carved in a piece of wood. Why had he carved it there? Maybe he’d been on a road trip, like us. Maybe he’d stolen a car or a carriage or a horse or whatever they had back then and rode around having fun. But whatever it was, it would never again be of interest to anyone because there was nothing left of his fun, of his life, of anything. The only people who would ever know anything at all about Anselm Wail were the people who climbed this mountain. And the same thing would be true of us.”
“I want to talk to my lawyer. That’s the sentence I probably need to say. It’s the right sentence in the right situation, as everybody knows from watching TV. And it’s easy to say: I want to talk to my lawyer. But they’d probably die laughing. Here’s the problem: I have no idea what this sentence means. If I say I want to talk to my lawyer and they ask me, “Who do you want to talk to? Your lawyer?” what am I supposed to answer? I’ve never seen a lawyer in my life, and I don’t even know what I need one for. I don’t know if there’s a difference between a lawyer and an attorney. Or an attorney general. I guess they’re like judges except on my side. I guess they know a lot more about the law than I do. But I guess pretty much everyone in the room knows more about the law than I do. First and foremost the policemen. And I could ask them.”
“It’s a little like those mafia movies, when there’s a long silence before one gangster answers another, and they just stare at each other. “Hey!” A minute of silence. “Look me in the eyes!” Five minutes of silence. In regular life that would be stupid. But when you’re in the mafia, it’s not.”
Have you read ‘Tschick‘? What do you think about it?
Ha, Vishy, it sounds as if you have a secret yearning to have adventures like this!
Ha, ha, ha! Too old to have adventures like this now, Lisa 😁 So vicariously living through these characters 😁
I’d really like to read this one. I feel I don’t read enough newer books.
I agree about the English title; it’s so forgettable, whereas Tschick sticks.
That English title is forgettable, isn’t it?
Hope you get to read this book and like it, Jonathan. It is wonderful and fast-paced and the characters are fascinating. Will look forward to hearing your thoughts. Happy reading!
I was a bit reluctant to pick the book up a few years ago, because I was told it is “Young Adult” literature. But while young people will most probably enjoy this book a lot, it is indeed for everyone who was ever young 🙂 I greatly enjoyed it (if you care, you can read here why: http://www.mytwostotinki.com/?p=920). A small correction: Herrndorf started his literary career indeed late – he was a painter and illustrator by profession – but he had already published at least two books before Tschick. I remember reading his blog Arbeit und Struktur (Work and Structure) which he published online while he was still alive, and in which he early on described his “exit strategy” (he shot himself when he was in the final stage of the brain tumor). Heartbreaking!
Loved what you said about Young Adult literature! Glad you liked this book. Thanks for sharing the link to your review. Will come and read it soon. It is heartbreaking what happened to Herrndorf.
I have both novels on my piles and am really looking forward to reading this. Sand received very mixed reviews so I will read this first.
I just read mytwostotinki’s comment. That is heartbreaking.
Hope you get to read this book and like it, Caroline. Will look forward to hearing your thoughts. I want to read ‘Sand’ too. Yes, it is so heartbreaking to read about what happened to Herrndorf.
I just put it on hold at the library. It sounds just terrific. I am very fond of YA lit and will look forward to reading this book! Thanks so much for the very intriguing review!
So wonderful, Heidi! Hope you enjoy reading it. Will look forward to hearing your thoughts. Happy reading!
Ah Vishy! Great review! I like the passages you shared, the first one especially.
Glad you like the review and the quotes, Pauline 🙂 What are you reading these days?
[…] 1 Handke: The Left-Handed Woman 1 Haratischvili: The Eighth Life 1 Herrndorf: Why We Took The Car 1 Hess: The German House 1 2 Jonke – Homage to Czerny 1 Kästner: Emil and The Detectives 1 […]
[…] occasionally read a YA book that someone highly recommends. That is how I discovered the wonderful ‘Tschick‘ by Wolfgang Herrndorf, this year. But otherwise, I don’t read YA […]
Hello friends, its fantastic piece of writing about tutoringand entirely explained, keep it up all the time.