1979 (novel)

German novel by Christian Kracht March 2023 1979 Christian Kracht 1979.jpg First edition cover Christian Kracht Switzerland German Kiepenheuer & Witsch 24 September 2001 192 978-3-462-03024-2 1979 is a 2001 novel by the Swiss writer Christian Kracht. It is set in 1979 and tells the story of an aloof homosexual who gets caught up in political turmoil in Iran and China. Plot The protagonist is a homosexual young man who travels to Tehran with his ex-boyfriend Christopher. It is the time of the Iranian Revolution, and as Christopher dies during a drug binge, the full revolution breaks out. The protagonist is convinced to travel to Tibet to climb the sacred Mount Kailash, only to be captured by the Chinese army. He spends time in an internment camp where he is indoctrinated and goes along with the survival techniques the prisoners develop. Throughout the story, the man is largely unaffected by the events around him and pays more attention to art, music, food and furnishings. Publication The book was published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch on 24 September 2001. The original German cover was designed by Peter Saville, known for his record sleeves for artists associated with Factory Records. The novel has been translated into Bulgarian, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, French, Hebrew, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Persian, Romanian, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. Reception Elke Heidenreich of Der Spiegel wrote: "It is a laconic novel about the lack of sense, of global ideas, it is the likewise laconic statement that you can do anything to a man, even subdue him to inhuman totalitarianism, because he has no capability for resistance whatsoever." The critic continued: "1979 is a novel about decadence — the decadence of western consumption and eastern doctrines of salvation, the decadence of prison camps and the decadence of drug parties, 'and suddenly, at once, I saw myself in my full disgracefulness'."Heidenreich Elke Elke Heidenreich 8 October 2001 http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-20289393.html Autoren: Nichts wird je wieder gut German Der Spiegel 41/2001 12 March 2015 Es ist ein lakonischer Roman über den Mangel an Sinn, an weltumspannenden Ideen, es ist die ebenso lakonische Feststellung, dass man mit dem Menschen alles machen kann, ihn sogar unmenschlichem Totalitarismus unterwerfen, weil er geistig zu einem Widerstand überhaupt nicht in der Lage ist." "1979 ist ein Roman über Dekadenz - die Dekadenz westlichen Konsums und östlicher Heilslehren, die Dekadenz der Lager und die Dekadenz der Drogenpartys, 'und plötzlich, auf einmal, sah ich auch mich in meiner ganzen widerlichen Erbärmlichkeit'. Adaptation A stage version of the novel directed by Matthias Hartmann premiered in 2004 and was performed in theatres in Zurich, Bochum, Hannover and Vienna.http://www.burgtheater.at/Content.Node2/home/spielplan/event_detailansicht.at.php?eventid=1043514 1979 German burgtheater.at Burgtheater 12 March 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150402090033/http://www.burgtheater.at/Content.Node2/home/spielplan/event_detailansicht.at.php?eventid=1043514 2 April 2015 dead References External links 1979 at the publisher's website de Category:2001 novels Category:21st-century Swiss novels Category:2000s German-language novels Category:Swiss novels adapted into plays Category:Novels by Christian Kracht Category:Novels set in the Iranian Revolution Category:Novels set in Tibet Category:Postmodern novels Category:Kiepenheuer & Witsch books Category:Novels set in 1979 Category:Novels about gay topics Category:2000s LGBTQ novels Category:Novels set in prison Category:Novels set in Tehran Category:Works of fiction named after a year