Notes from an Insect Collector
Fiction, Literary Fiction
The horrors and magic of the past
Artists, loners, highly gifted individuals - Stefan aus dem Siepen’s heroes pursue extraordinary passions, which all too often threaten their very existence. An insect collector’s life is thrown into question when he realizes that, despite all of his attention to order and meticulousness, he cannot elude his own mortality. Arturo, the great escape artist, achieves his greatest victory: He manages to bind himself in such a way that he cannot escape. And there has never been such a man as the genius Näglinger. Yet, despite his amazing capabilities, he fails to ever become famous. In these stories, legends and fairy tales, Stefan aus dem Siepen captivates us with the charming humor and finely tuned sense of irony with which he tackles the tragedy and scope of our lives.
“Stefan aus dem Siepen rightly belongs in the top tier of German storytellers.” Durs Grünbein on The Rope
- Fresh, charming stories, classical in tone
Stefan aus dem Siepen, born in 1964, studied law and entered a diplomatic career in 1992. After postings in Bonn, Luxemburg, Shanghai and Moscow, he is currently working for the Foreign Office in Berlin. He has published two more novels (“Luftschiff” and “Die Entzifferung der Schmetterlinge”).
The horrors and magic of the past
Artists, loners, highly gifted individuals - Stefan aus dem Siepen’s heroes pursue extraordinary passions, which all too often threaten their very existence. An insect collector’s life is thrown into question when he realizes that, despite all of his attention to order and meticulousness, he cannot elude his own mortality. Arturo, the great escape artist, achieves his greatest victory: He manages to bind himself in such a way that he cannot escape. And there has never been such a man as the genius Näglinger. Yet, despite his amazing capabilities, he fails to ever become famous. In these stories, legends and fairy tales, Stefan aus dem Siepen captivates us with the charming humor and finely tuned sense of irony with which he tackles the tragedy and scope of our lives.
“Stefan aus dem Siepen rightly belongs in the top tier of German storytellers.” Durs Grünbein on The Rope
- Fresh, charming stories, classical in tone