About life at the turn of the century
Algund
A book reading with music
Fifty years after graduating from high school, Lutz and Tom meet with their wives for a week together in Algund, South Tyrol. The hiking holiday in October 2023 develops an unexpected dynamic. The failure of pacifism, the end of the era of peace that had been so firmly believed in Europe, the threat of climate catastrophe, and concerns about democracy – all of this ferments within them and fuels the conversation.
Experiences from the past resurface, old injuries, secrets and love affairs
wake up again.
The political turning point is compounded by the personal turning point for the four baby boomers. Their retirement from working life is gnawing at them, as is their loss of attractiveness.
The novel wants to know how the four characters deal with the changes, what supports them, how they suppress emerging fears, and also what children and childlessness mean to them in this situation.
The novel was published in February 2025.
Michael Göring, born in 1956, grew up in Westphalia.
He headed the non-profit ZEIT Foundation and teaches cultural and media management at the University of Music and Theatre in Hamburg. In 2016, he was one of the initiators of the European Union's Charter of Digital Fundamental Rights.
After his successful novels Vor der Wand (2013), Spiegelberg (2016), Hotel Dellbrück (2018) and most recently Dresden (2021) (all published by Osburg Verlag), he is now presenting his new work.
In 2019, Michael Göring received the Dr. Günther Book Prize for his literary and humanities work. The author lives and works in Hamburg Volksdorf.
Music by Rachmaninoff and Schubert, which also plays a central role in the book, is played.
At the piano: Dr. Christoph Semisch.
