Hans Henny Jahnn: Die Niederschrift des Gustav Anias Horn nachdem er 49 Jahre alt geworden war [The Notebook of Gustav Anias Horn after he was 49 years old]

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The latest addition to my website is Hans Henny Jahnn‘s Die Niederschrift des Gustav Anias Horn nachdem er 49 Jahre alt geworden war [The Notebook of Gustav Anias Horn after he was 49 years old]. After Jahnn wrote Das Holzschiff (The Ship), he planned to write a tenth chapter. This book – 1600 pages long – is that tenth chapter. It tells the story of Gustav Horn, more or less from when the ship sank to his death, filling in some details of the sinking of the ship and the murder of Ellna, his fiancée. He learns that Alfred Tutein, one of the sailors, was responsible for Ellena’s death but he not only forgives Alfred but they set up house together, helped by the fact that the Supercargo on the ship had left all his money to Gustav. They move first to South America and then after a trip to Africa, settle in Norway. Gustav becomes a successful composer. The second part of the book is about Alfred’s death and what Gustav does afterwards. The book is full of wonderful lyrical descriptions of nature and the changing seasons but death continues to be prevalent throughout the book. It has not been translated into English nor is it likely to be but it has been translated into French. It is a wonderful book, though clearly overlong.

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