Literary tips in April

Actor Thomas Sarbacher reads from Khaled Khalifa's novel "Death is a Labourious Business". Khalifa, who died in Damascus in 2023, was one of the most important authors of Arab modernism and was considered the most important critic of the Assad regime. The author and his work repeatedly came under the scrutiny of the censorship authorities, which is why some of his books were published abroad. The novel takes us on a tragic-comic road trip of three Syrian siblings through a devastated country. With the body of their father in the boot of their car, they drive from Damascus to his home village in Aleppo, an almost impossible endeavour in times of war ...

If you know Thomas Sarbacher's voice, you could listen to it forever. And the changing exhibitions at the Albert and Melanie Rüegg Art Collection also offer plenty of visual delights.

Since its foundation in 1834, the Museum Society's book collection has grown continuously. In addition to new publications, it also houses many first editions and rarities, such as nineteenth-century travel and memoir literature that is otherwise difficult to access. And so it comes as no surprise that the house on the Limmat has always been a meeting place for readers and writers alike: Thomas Mann came to visit, so did Lenin, the Dadasists found refuge here and - as legend has it - James Joyce is said to have written "Ulysses" from a window seat overlooking the river. In an exclusive look behind the scenes, library manager Mirjam Schreiber tells even more stories and shows treasures from the book stacks.

Reservation recommended: bibliothek@mug.ch

Where does memory begin? And where does it end? What can be captured and which stories remain in one's own memory and which in the collective memory? In delicate images, Kerstin Wichmann tells of her personal search for traces of fathers from different generations. Hanna Hovtvian from the Freiburger Literaturhaus concludes that this is an atmospheric comic debut that one would definitely like to see continued. In conversation with Cornelia Jacomet, Kerstin Wichmann provides fascinating insights into her work.

They have been told around the world long before they were written down. And hardly any child grows up without fairy tales. But how is the strength and power of stories changing in an increasingly secularised and diverse society? The recently published book "Erzähl doch mal" presents 11 stories from different religions, cultures and times. And thus gives space to the cultural power of storytelling and storytelling as a central cultural technique.

The actress Ruth Schwegler will read, while the co-editor Dr Rolf Bossart, the biblical scholar, will discuss with the storyteller Dr Moni Egger and Dr Winfried Bader, Central Secretary of the Swiss Catholic Biblical Association.