Kleine Probleme

Nele Pollatschek tells an everyday story that strikes at the heart of our existence. From a to-do list emerges a vibrant novel about how difficult it is to simply live. On December 31, tasks such as filing taxes, cleaning the apartment, assembling a bed for his daughter, writing a life’s work, and quitting smoking await. Lars, a forty-nine-year-old overthinker and aspiring writer, wanted to use the gap between the years to finally tackle everything that had been left undone over the past decades. The plan was for the new year to begin in an organized life. The timing seemed perfect: the children were on a year abroad, and his wife was away. No one to disturb him. But the week in which everything could have been accomplished suddenly slipped away. The last day of the year has begun – with drizzling rain, as usual? The house is still chaotic. Life, too. And as Lars approaches the first item on his to-do list, it feels as if he must reinvent not just himself, but an entire world. In her funny, tragic, and philosophical novel, Nele Pollatschek explores chaos and the longing for order, perfect children and imperfect parents, love, small screws, and great works. Above all, she tells of the difficulty of not postponing one’s life to later.