Herzfaden

A wonderful story about how telling and listening to stories can help us grapple with dark realities. The novel tells the history of the Augsburger Puppenkiste, a famous German marionette theater. Set during and after the WWII, this is also the story of dealing with its aftermath. The “Herzfaden” is the string that connects a puppet to the hearts of the audience, the magic that makes the puppets comes alive. The first sentence is just magical, for a coming-of-age story about puppets and strings. Das Mädchen riss sich von der Hand seines Vaters los und lief weg.I loved almost everything about the Kasperl. The scenes on the attic reminded me a bit of [b:Tyll 36130507 Tyll Daniel Kehlmann https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1503797313l/36130507.SY75.jpg 57727239], and how conflicted you can feel about characters that balance on the edge of ‘evil'.