The Night of Wishes

The satanarchäolügenialkohöllische Wunschpunsch is the title of a children's book by the German writer Michael Ende, which first appeared in 1989 and 1990 was awarded the Swiss Literary Prize " La vache qui lit".

Action

The evil wizard Beelzebub Irrwitzer under contract with His Infernal excellence to accomplish a prescribed number of evil deeds, such as natural disasters, epidemics and other disasters every year. This year, however, he fails to fulfill his target because he has sent in search of the cause of all misfortunes the romantic and naive hangover Maurizio di Mauro as a spy in the house of the High Council of animals, Irrwitzer by his inquisitive nature forces to extreme caution. An official of the devil, Made Maledictus then comes to New Year's Eve for a visit and threatens with a " seizure " Beelzebub if he did not until midnight, is on track to evil deeds.

The aunt of the magician, the money witch Tyrannja Vamperl struggling with similar problems and also got a visit from Made. Fulfills its accumulated rough Raven Jacob Krakel is also a spy for the animals, which made it impossible for her to do their jobs before year end. In her desperation to close the two magicians together on New Year's Eve and try in the last hours of the year by the mighty Wunschpunsch that can meet your every outspoken desire to accomplish the missing misfortunes. Through a magical reversal effect of the potion they do not even keep the potion secret from the animals, because all desires are transformed into its opposite. Would you want someone so " voluminous beautiful hair ," says the person fell as a result of all of the hair from.

The book plays from five clock in the afternoon and midnight on New Year's Day. Instead of chapter headings times are used to indicate to the reader the progression of time and thus illustrate the time pressures put on all the characters of the story. On the one hand there are the two wizards that before next year have to work the five -meter-long recipe for brewing the desired punch in time. They interfere with each other because they caused oust by their evil nature, keep trying each other and lose valuable time. On the other hand, there are tomcat and Raven, the need to find a way in time to avoid the great disaster, without really knowing how.

In addition, the two animals are still struggling with problems such as obesity and chronic diseases of the cat of the Raven. Nevertheless, they manage to develop a plan to exploit a weakness of the potion: If it is not completely drunk at the first tone of the New Year bells of the potion, the reverse effect no longer works. So would from the entire calamity that will cause the wizard, be louder favors because their wishes would now be implemented literally. For this purpose, the animals want to ring the bells of the cathedral prematurely. But reaching the bells proves more difficult than expected, because the holy Sylvester I hears of their plan and prohibits them achieve the bells to ring them. But since not play a role for the Holy space and time, he is able to give the animals prematurely a frozen sound of midnight Geläuts, although this will only be heard at midnight. This is the final task, the need to master the animals to give this sound as another ingredient in the potion without the magician notice.

This they succeed quite scarce. Wizards begin their intended work and wish the world with each Trinkzug from Wunschpunsch all possible good. Shortly before midnight they decide drunk, " to want something good " nor their two pets. The two animals are put perfectly healthy and get in addition fulfills their desires of life. The Wizards are perplexed, but too drunk to realize what happened. While the raven and the cat escaped from the house, the magician now trying to curse each other by the desire punch, but thoroughly fails. As they get a few seconds before midnight finally dawns, what's going on, it's too late. The punch is used up, and they fall into a deep coma alcohol.

After midnight, leaves His Infernal excellence through Maledictus Made seize the souls of the magician, while the raven and the cat outside overjoyed plan and watch as the world without knowing where suddenly all their luck for the next year, in a bright their future future goes.

Title

The word satanarchäolügenialkohöllisch is a portmanteau of the words Satan, anarchy, archeology, lies, awesome, alcohol and hellish. Some words come of it is of particular importance in the book. Thus, the fact that the drink is alcoholic, mean that the magician and the witch are extremely drunk at the end and do not realize that the important reversal effect of the potion does not work. The reverse effect itself is associated with the word "lie" to express.

Real time

The book has a special feature: The chapters are divided according to times. In a quiet reading speed and without interference, it is possible to read the novel in real time.

Allusions

Jacob Krakels first appearance is a humorous allusion to Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem The Raven.

Even the names of the two magicians speak for themselves: " Beelzebub " is a common synonym for the Devil, " Tyrannja " clearly related to the word bully. Although the two are clearly the evil, the reader sympathy is still often on their side.

A captive of Irrwitzer being is also called smarty pants or Korinthenkackerli the so-called Büchernörgele, " a particularly nasty little monster, [ ... ] in the vernacular. These little ghosts usually spend their existence to the fact that they nag books. " In an illustration in the book, it bears the unmistakable traits of the literary critic Marcel Reich -Ranicki. In 1995, the Eichborn publishing a squeaky piece of rubber with the name " Büchernörgeli " out, the Reich-Ranicki caricatured - on this display anti -Semitic stereotypes have been criticized, including in 2008 as part of a special exhibition at the Jewish Museum Berlin.

In addition Irrwitzer and his aunt injected for the purpose of a journey into the fourth dimension, a " colorless liquid " from a bottle whose label is labeled " Lucifer Dimensional Salto " - a reference to the drug LSD.

Adaptations

As early as 1990, the satanarchäolügenialkohöllische Wunschpunsch was premiered in a theater version in the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg. On 6 December 1990, the Puppet Theatre premiere took place in Düsseldorf puppet theater instead, participated as a creative director at the end, and their staging date for most played the puppet theater was. The book was also implemented by carousel as an audio book in three parts ( Narrator: Michael Ende ). A radio play version was, inter alia, with Thomas Piper ( in the role of Jacob Raven Caw ) and Grete worm (in the role of the cat Maurizio di Mauro ) 1991 produced by WDR. The first of the 52 episodes of the resulting 2000 animated series The Wunschpunsch based on the novel. They can be seen on the transmitter KiKA over again.