(Deutsch) Kein theologisches Buch

“Schlange des Bösen” (=Serpent of Malice) , Part 1: Die Studentin’ was published just in time for the Leipzig Book Fair. The evening before the fair, my publisher, Torston Low , organised a reading in Delitzsch, a pretty suburb of Leipzig. There, in a whisky bar ‘No. 2 – Altstadtkneipe’, we gave a very first reading for an interested audience. It went very well.

De ‘Altstadtkneipe’ is a delightfully cosy old building with the largest stock of whisky I’ve ever seen. I love good whisky. But when you have a reading to give, it’s best to stay sober at first. Torsten and I took it in turns to read. And the audience seemed quite taken with it.

I like listening to Torsten. His readings are full of life and fun. If you’re ever at an event where he’s reading, go listen. It’s well worth it. And, of course, also please come to me when I’m reading. I promise you won’t get bored with me, either. The next opportunity to hear me will be at the Aethercircus in Buxtehude.

I read again at the book fair proper. It’s a trifle more difficult to connect with the audience there. For one thing, it’s incredibly loud in the halls, and there are always several readings going on at the same time, which are of course all PA-supported. On the other hand, the sound engineer simply filters out the highs and lows of the readings so that the sound remains all in mid-range. It’s really exhausting to still sound interesting. However, the reading was well attended and nobody took to their heels. I take that as a very positive omen.

On the train journey, I had a conversation with a fellow traveller. He asked what my book was called. ‘Serpent of Malice’.

‘Ah,’ he said.‘A theological work’

I had to disappoint him. Anyone hoping to find out biblical exegetical details about original sin in my book will be looking in vain for enlightenment.

However, ‘sin’ does appear in the book, in one form or another. You simply  can’t get by without it.