The man who talked to the birds
Lake Como in Lombardy, nestled in an imposing mountain landscape and surrounded by palm trees, olive trees and picturesque coastal towns. A tourist hotspot for years. This gripping social novel is set in this picturesque scenario and deals with the threat posed to the mountain world by climate change and human ignorance.
A man is found on a steep slope of Monte Croce di Muggio high above Lake Como, apparently talking to the birds. Shortly afterwards, this slope plunges into the depths. There are other landslides in the Alps within a short distance. Did the birds warn of these natural disasters? From now on, the "birdman" is accompanied by a renowned crow researcher and a mountaineer who is concerned about nature. Switzerland asks for administrative assistance and the Catholic Church believes it recognises a new Francis in the man. He becomes a leading figure for the climate movement as well as for a management consultant who advocates a sustainable business model in the Alps. The players collide around Lake Como. This reveals hypocrisy in politics and economics as well as the environmentalists' actionism and wishful thinking in the face of the climate catastrophe. - The furious start to a new book series. With critical imagination, the authors sketch out possible versions of the very near future. (Source: https://kanon-verlag.de/shop/romane/spinnen-wolkenstein-erdrutsch/)
- "Burkhard Spinnen and Charles Wolkenstein have written a novel that is as entertaining as it is descriptive and goes beyond lurid climate dystopia. As science-based fiction, 'Landslide' is at times reminiscent of Frank Schätzing." (Cornelius Wüllenkemper, Deutschlandfunk Lesart)
- "This balance between humour and seriousness, between past and future, between social criticism and suspense plot is a tightrope act in the best sense of the word and makes 'Landslide' a highly intelligent read." (Juli Zeh, Edle Federn)
Burkhard Spinnen (*1956) lives in Münster. He writes short stories, novels, children's books, essays, glosses and reviews. The author has received numerous awards for his work, including the aspekte Literature Prize, the Literature Prize of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Herbert Quandt Media Prize and the German Audiobook Prize.
This event of the Kulturkirche St. Christophorus takes place in cooperation with the Westfälisches Literaturbüro in Unna e. V. and the project "lila lettern - literatur aus westfalen".
