Die Erfindung des Lebens

The story of a mute child who must invent his life to find happiness. "The Invention of Life" is the tale of a young man from his childhood to his early successes as a writer. As the only surviving child of his parents, who lost four sons during World War II and the aftermath, he grows up in Cologne. His mother has become mute, and her last son initially lives silently by her side. Only after years can he break free from the family's grip, start a career as a pianist in Rome, and after its failure, attempt to find happiness through writing.

In his new, autobiographically inspired novel, Hanns-Josef Ortheil tells the story of a mute child for many years, whose parents lost four sons in the war and post-war period. Together with his also mute mother, he grows up in an artificial protective zone, from which he can only slowly free himself through his beloved piano playing and his father's unorthodox language lessons. However, the liberation is painful. It leads the boy on long, lonely journeys through Germany and, in a final act of liberation, ultimately to Rome. There, he becomes a successful pianist, makes friendships, and even enters into a romantic relationship. Yet these bonds tear apart, and he must also give up his pianist career. After returning to Germany, a former teacher makes him the fascinating suggestion to try his hand at writing.

Drawing on the great coming-of-age novels of German literature, this historically expansive novel crafts a biography that must be reinvented anew after every setback. The result is the moving story of a young pianist and later writer, whose ultimately happy outcome borders on a miracle.