Der stille Freund

Ferdinand von Schirach writes about the vulnerability of humanity, its triumphs and failures. His stories depict the upper class and aristocrats, death and crime, as well as music, film, painting, and philosophy. They are set in Berlin, Cape Town, Rome, Vienna, and the Côte d'Azur. They recount private encounters, historical events, and personalities such as the tennis player Gottfried von Cramm, the architect Adolf Loos, and the Viennese writer, actor, and cultural philosopher Egon Friedell. Again and again, his new book "The Silent Friend" tells of coincidences that irrevocably change a life, the incomprehensibility and greatness of humanity, the uncertainty of existence, and the longing for protection, safety, and freedom.