#DER GESCHMACK VON APFELKERNEN

[cleargreyskies]

Book of the month - June 2021

Der Geschmack von Apfelkernen (The Taste of Apple Seeds) by Katharina Hagena (2008)

When Iris' grandmother dies and Iris inherits the house, she is faced with the difficult decision whether she wants to sell it or keep it, and with it beautiful, sad and disturbing memories from her childhood.

This rather short novel (250 pages) about three generations of women from a small town somewhere close to the German city Bremen and the North Sea is set close to where I grew up. Whenever the author paints pictures of the surroundings by describing the many different plant species in the garden or the apple trees in the backyard, she transports me back in time to childhood spent in gardens similar to the one in the story and to my extended family's farms on the more Northern side of the Elbe–Weser triangle.

The main theme is forgetting, illustrated by metaphors and plot elements, the overall tone is very bittersweet (more bitter than sweet, and sometimes biting with quiet tragedy). I found the plot intriguing, even if it is quiet (but not calm). Many elements of the story are noticeably constructed for the metaphors that convey the main theme to work, but that did not feel like a bad thing to me.

Since I had no expectations at all (found the book in a shelf of books to give away for free), I was pleasantly surprised - not only by the familiarity of the setting, but also by the tones of cynicism and bitterness underneath potential nostalgia, the surrealism at times (a hint of painful magic in an ordinary setting) and the somewhat disturbing story/narration.

[internalcouncil]

[nacht-gespraeche]

Lass es doch noch einmal Sterne regnen, bat sie immer wieder, vor allem wenn wir bei Dunkelheit im Garten standen.

Der Geschmack von Apfelkernen, Katharina Hagena

[holunder]

Der Geschmack von Apfelkernen (2013)

(the taste of apple seeds)

[funkyqueers]

The Taste of Apple Seeds by Katharina Hagena | Book Review (von dramalovesme)

I did a video. You know, as I do, about a book I read and love.

[glamourde]

Auf diesen Film freuen wir uns besonders: "Der Geschmack von Apfelkernen" mit Hannah Herzsprung, Marie Bäumer, Florian Stetter, Friedrich Mücke und Meret Becker läuft am 26. September 2013 in den deutschen Kinos an. Der gleichnamige Roman von Katharina Hagena ist übrigens die perfekte Sommerlektüre.

[holunder]

Der Geschmack von Apfelkernen (2013)