German reception of Viewegh’s Angels of the Everyday

The renowned arts journalist Christine Westermann, for instance, has repeatedly brought attention to the title, declaring it her favourite book of spring 2010.

“Norbert Mayer gave a mention to the German edition of Andělé všedního dne (Angels of the Everyday)in ORF’s May installment of Bestenlist, where participants nominate up to four titles each month. Furthermore, the current positive reception of the book has been reinforced by the fact that the Munich-based publisher DTV – Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag - bought the rights for a paperback edition of Viewegh’s two books - Vybíjená (Dodgeball) and Andělé všedního dne (Angels of the Everyday), which had already been brought out by Deuticke/Zsolnay in a German translation.  Another reason for Viewegh’s success in the German publishing market might be the series of his impending readings,” says DB agency’s Dana Blatná, who arranged the sale of rights to Austria, comments on the reception in the German-speaking world

Selected reviews

Olga Hochweis, Germany (Deutschlandradio, 10 June 2010)

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Even though the four angels don’t have wings, they are invisible and lead the ways and actions of the novel’s characters. Thirty-one chapters are named after these angels, with Ester as the fifth – recurring – chapter title. Ester is not an angel but a young woman who cannot seem to come to terms with the loss of her husband. Increasingly, she’s turning into the novel’s very own harbinger of hope. As the only character, she embodies the central message - Carpe Diem! Our time on earth is way too short, hence, one should use it to lead a meaningful and conscious life.” Regardless of how unimaginative this thought may seem, Viewegh managed to impressively convey it with delicate detail, using actually often rather banal, albeit correct everyday observations. His creatures, including otherworldly angels, conjure a pliant and authentic feeling. “His books are intelligent and easy to read, well-arranged yet far from simple,“ is how Thomas Brussig extolled Viewegh’s novels, and deservedly so.

One has to disagree with Brussig’s depiction of Viewegh as the new Milan Kundera though. The Czech bestselling author lacks gracefulness, Kundera’s analytical wit and sense of undertones in narration. Last but not least, Viewegh’ s writing is devoid of political explosiveness. His 1992 debut, which received the respected Jiří Orten Award (the reviewer is incorrent here, Viewegh’s first work was Názory na vraždu, Opinions on a Murder,and not Báječná léta pod psa, The Wonderful Years of Lousy Living, as stated – ed. note), was the only accomplished effort to describe Czechoslovakia’s political stagnation before 1989. Relevant reflections of contemporary Czech society are entirely absent.

Janine Gimbel, Germany (Schreiblust Verlag, without date)

With Andělech všedního dne (Angels of the Everyday), the successful Czech author Michal Viewegh delivers a sensitive, serene story about life. The first impressions can be confusing – what do we have in common with angels – winged, innocent and thoroughly pure creatures. Nevertheless, none of the aforementioned descriptions of angels are apt in the novel. Similarly to humans, Hachamel, Jofaniel, Ilmuth and Nith-Haiah also have to deal with life’s situations without knowing whose directions they follow. This is why the story is so believable, as if taken from real life, for it is life that plays a crucial role in the novel and not death, as we may presume.

Even though sadness plays an important role here, the book surprises with one thing – the abundance of possibilities to have a laugh. Michal Viewegh knows the ins and outs of situational comedy and humorously describes the bizarre situations that the angels are grappling with. The writing comes to life thanks to this contradiction and has the reader wondering whether to laugh or cry.

H. K., Germany

Armed with poetic language and eschewing sentimentality, Michal Viewegh unveils a story about people’s hopes, fears and vainglory, their existing and withered desires and the need to do at least such an amount of good that the angels sent to Earth are able to. There are two known types of existentialism: cynical – decidedly atheist and exposed to absurdity, and heroic, agnostic, fighting for humanity. Without doubt, Viewegh is a proponent of the latter. The book’s main message is expressed in its last sentence: We don’t have to believe in God, but we cannot give up hope. In a novel as good as this, and this is perhaps the greatest compliment one can give it, this message becomes almost secondary.

Norbert Mayer, Austria (Die Presse, 22 May 2010)

Every angel is terrible, Rilke wrote in his Duino Elegies. In the case of the successful Czech author Michal Viewegh, however, what’s horrible is not these ethereal creatures, but the work they are doing on Earth. In the short, elegant novel Andělé všedního dne (Angels of the Everyday) they don’t assume the roles of guardian angels. Instead, they appear as understanding guides through the process of dying, who despite their nihilistic predilections, persistently champion humanism.

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In few sentences, Viewegh managed to construct a complex web of relationships. Employing an ironic and sombre tone of narration, he portrays ordinary residents of one city. Fairy-tale-like angelic arrangement never slips to embarassment, to the contrary, the author makes full use of this bizarre narrative structure.  It is hard to find such earthly-oriented otherworldly creatures, such as Hachamel and Jofaniel in literature. They spice up this accessible text, whose German translation is pleasantly laconic, with the right ingredients.

Selected and translated from German media and internet by Radek Malý.