WLADIMIR KAMINER - Mahlzeit! Geschichten von Europas Tischen
As Wladimir Kaminer came to Germany, there were two of them, in East Berlin, the capital of the GDR, he shook up the Kaffee Burger with his "Russian Disco," long a meeting point of the local cultural scene, mixing what collided: melancholy and techno, depth and foolishness, glasnost and retromania. His style became the sound of the turning years and Kaminer their interpreter: Everything seemed possible for those who believed his interpretation, never in the history of the West had optimism and the desire for what happens been so laconic, so heartfelt, so immediate as Kaminer's humor during the turning point.
Never before and since then never again. Since February 24, 2022, the day when it became clear to everyone in the West that Putin's Russia had been invading Ukraine for ten long years. "I am ashamed," says Kaminer, "I am the one who has been telling everywhere for over 30 years how great and creative Russia is and what wonderful people they are, European thinkers who are on the right path, and then this... these cannibalistic, patriotic orgies..."
Kaminer renames, he invites to the "Ukrainedisko," he supports opposition journalists in the hope that they can reach a Russian public from abroad and create a critical public in a society, which he says today is embarrassing itself, for 25 years it has let itself be "governed by the same guy," sits at home "and watches TV" - not much different from Putin himself, whom he calls a "garage retiree." This is how the "Soviet early retirees of state security" are referred to in Russia, "people who are still fit but no longer have to work. So they sit behind the garage with a beer and ponder the state of the world."
Against this background, Kaminer's new book reads like a reflection on what defines Europe: the curiosity about its neighbors, the desire to meet people one does not know. Not yet.
There are likely few others as curious about their neighbors as Wladimir Kaminer. Whether it is about individual people or entire countries. And how could one get to know each other better than by sharing a meal? As guests at foreign tables, one not only indulges in the culinary culture of others and their tastes - if curious like Kaminer - but also learns about their dreams, wishes, worries, and hopes. On his travels through Europe, Wladimir Kaminer samples from the plates of Portugal as well as from the honey pots of Bulgaria, he drinks the wine of the Republic of Moldova and dips the spoon into the pots of Serbia.
Above all, however, he engages in conversation with the people and delves deep into their histories and stories. His excursions reveal a Europe that is just like its dishes: diverse, surprising, and with a flavor that creates friendships.
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
