Hannes was an idiot! This is how this now old man describes himself. He approaches his unknown country with his alter ego, the author. “Hannes or the foreign country” is a journey through the life of a man that began in the former GDR. It is a journey full of emotions and captivating experiences and memories. Growing up in the GDR and then spending the second half of his life in the West, Hannes remembers his mistakes, collisions and love. His move to the united Germany was not always smooth and trouble-free either. With the help of the author of this book, he gradually manages to ask the questions that he did not want to think of at the right time or that he perhaps wanted to avoid.
Hannes, a person with weaknesses and strengths, is on a search that is initially not clear to him where it will lead him. Nothing in his life is actually as it seems to him so far. Together with his alter ego, he sets out to discover his foreign country. Will the search bring him to his destination and is this how he imagined the country? Hannes' life is a story that spans countries, marked by hope and despair, political challenges, gradual self-discovery and the courage to face the unknown.
The author skillfully knows how to find a balance between an exciting contemporary document and personal fate. The story draws you in from the first page and doesn't let you go until the last sentence. He gradually builds up the tension and suspense of his protagonist. Until the reader learns that this foreign country will probably not be found on any map.
The book “Hannes or the Foreign Land” is not a search for guilt, but for the causes of deeply felt ruptures in a person's life.
