I came across it quite by accident: the book Die Haarteppichknüpfer (The Hair Carpet Weavers) by Andreas Eschbach. I knew the author from Jesus Video and Der Nobelpreis (The Nobel Prize). I found Eine Billion Dollar (A Billion Dollars) especially cute and was quite impressed by Ausgebrannt (Burned Down) – partly because of the conscientious way in which the author did the necessary research.
“The Hair Carpet Weavers” were the first long novel by Andreas Eschbach. Up until then, he had probably been more interested in writing shorter stories.
When reading The Hair Carpet Weavers, you begin by reading many pages of exciting phantasy, structured and progressing with a touch of genius. Yet in a way you cannot understand the meaning of all this. In the last part, you are confronted with a short episode of science fiction. And then comes the bombshell (which makes the unavoidable love story possible), explaining the entire riddle in a brutal and nightmarish fashion.
And the reader is filled with the oppressive feeling that humans can be made to commit atrocities in a surprisingly consequential way and with total perfection. As always, you can find unpleasant parallels with the current situation on many levels.
The last book by Andreas Eschbach I read was Ein König für Deutschland (A King for Germany). It is indirectly about IT: As far as I can judge, the underlying expertise is excellent. The King is also a very nice book, but personally, I found the finish too soft. In that respect, it is exactly the opposite of the Hair Carpet Weavers.
However, I can warmly recommend all books by Andreas Eschbach at least as easy vacation entertainment.
RMD
(Translated by EG)
P.S.
🙂 A king for Germany would probably not be such a bad idea. At least for Bavaria. However, I do not need Hair Carpet Weavers around here…
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