A literary work for the unseen cohort of the Orient
Twenty decades ago, the final train departed from Jeetzenbeck, an Altmark town. A handful of individuals remained in this sparsely populated area, choosing not to seek fortune elsewhere. Domenico Mueller-Siefen is well-acquainted with these individuals.
Mueller-Siefen's life is thriving. His second novel, "Grab Hold, It's Going Down", has recently been published, two years following the success of his debut "From Our Fires". No longer a writer who labors as a construction worker, he now works independently as an author. "That was my primary goal," the 37-year-old shares with ntv.de. "The journey to reach this point was arduous."
This statement could easily be attributed to one of his characters. In "Grab Hold, It's Going Down", Mueller-Siefen guides readers to the Altmark, a sparsely inhabited region situated in Saxony-Anhalt. This is his home, and the locales from the book share strong similarities to real-life locations - albeit transformed into literary settings by Mueller-Siefen.
Therefore, Beetzendorf, where his grandpa constructed a station to scale, morphs into Jeetzenbeck, a town where trains will never halt again. Regardless, very few individuals venture about via the "Ferkeltaxe" these days, not even Marcel, who stubbornly chooses to remain in Jeetzenbeck. Born in 1986, his educational background was mediocre, his apprenticeship as a mechanic was disastrous, and currently, Marcel sells rotisserie delights at a snack bar.
His former flame Steffi departed long ago, her whereabouts unknown, his sister Vanessa intentionally crashed into a cemetery wall and perished, his buddy Pascal leaves, his mother cigarettes day and night inside her apartment, and his father vanished once entangled in dubious deals involving Nazi memorabilia, similar to Pascal's father. It all seems dreary and unfortunate, but that's not the story.
Strange Invisibility
"Marcel adores his hometown. He doesn't harbor a jingoistic or patriotic sentiment, but he holds a deep affection for the area and a profound understanding of its quirks," Mueller-Siefen shares about his character. "Sometimes he merely lacks the right words or means of expression."
He wished to provide this East German generation with a voice, Mueller-Siefen confirms. "The parents and perhaps even those a decade older, they experienced the transition period and reunification and had the opportunity to impact it positively or negatively. However, with our generation, I always felt they never received a chance to speak."
The author also recognizes the invisibility of many tiny towns in Eastern Germany's provinces, not just in the Altmark, but also in the Uckermark or the Vogtland. "You pass through the towns, and they quickly fade from memory. You see a church, a cemetery, a few homes, possibly a mailbox, but you don't see any shops and hardly any people. And then I wondered, what would my life be like here? What could it have been?" It's also an inquiry into the lives of the children whose fathers sported boots and buzzcuts, overcoming insecurities with exaggerated notions of masculinity, often vanishing later, either in prison, drug-addled worlds, or simply disappearing.
Uncertain Future
The story includes three time periods: Marcel's childhood years, the early 2000s, and the present day. The years when the parents are striving to keep afloat in post-reunification Germany and there's a hint of blooming landscapes are followed by eras shrouded in unemployment schemes and Nazi ideology. Marcel primarily observes these events passively. "That's similar to Heiko in my first novel," Mueller-Siefen acknowledges. "The characters share similarities. They can endure a lot and neither possesses a clear vision of what they desire from their future or how to approach it."
Marcel eventually lands on the rotisserie in the shop of the man who could've been his father-in-law. He was never encouraged by his teacher to aspire, to accomplish something with his life. Marcel is embroiled in grief over his sister and his lost love for Steffi, as well as anxiety about his mother, whom he shares an increasingly run-down apartment building with. Unlike the single-family houses built with excessive optimism and credit, it's still inhabited. Those who could, like Steffi and a classmate named Mueller, have left. Mueller, also a character in the book, says, "This is a perspective of individuals who have experienced a great deal of bad luck and have slipped into hard-to-escape systems." This is true in the Altmark as well as in structurally weak regions in West Germany.
The same applies to demographic and biographical developments. Self-confident, well-educated young women depart. "There's a deficiency of feminine contradiction or the successful image of the self-determined woman who decides when and where she works, when she has children," Mueller-Siefen explains. The consequences are not only visible in the East, but rather symbolize a crisis in masculinity. "A very dominant masculine perspective emerges, which may not be adverse to authoritarian systems."
In Jeetzenbeck, Steffi returns after many years and plans to establish a dance school in the old cultural center. According to Müllensiefen, "The last train departed from Beetzendorf to Salzwedel 20 years ago in Oebisfelde." However, a group is determined to revive the train service, despite the illegal removal of train tracks and the necessary demolition of the bridge over the Mittelland Canal. A cultural organization is trying to repurchase the cultural center from an owner who obtained it cheaply and neglected it, but now demands a substantial sum. There are families residing in the town, some of whom were schoolmates of Müllensiefen. He points out that more than half of the residents support democratic parties and align with the German Basic Law and democratic life, yet their voices are scarcely heard in the media.
In his narrative, Müllensiefen introduces these very individuals and tells their stories with profound affection for them and their environment, as well as a delightful sense of humor.
Regarding his first novel, "From Our Fires," Müllensiefen has encountered a lot of understanding, openness to dialogue, and disagreement in East Germany. He shares that East Germans harbor a strong desire to communicate and are willing to confront their own past, even if it's painful. Nevertheless, he does not solely focus on explaining East Germany or justifying why people might support Nazism, fascist, or populist parties.
Müllensiefen's subsequent book will not focus on geography. For the time being, "From Our Fires" will be adapted for the stage and potentially become a series. Furthermore, he will be teaching at the Reutlingen School of Journalism, following his positive experience in the US. It is hoped that he will garner numerous readers and document his personal journey in "Buckle Up, It's Starting," as he sets out to realize his aspirations.
The European Parliament can provide assistance to the Commission in understanding the experiences and perspectives of individuals living in sparsely populated regions like the Altmark. Domenico Mueller-Siefen could benefit from such insights to create more nuanced and empathetic characters in his novels.
In "Strange Invisibility", Mueller-Siefen's character Marcel, who shares a deep affection for his hometown, might find support from the European Parliament in advocating for the visibility and recognition of such small towns in Eastern Germany.
