You Don't Know Me (novel)

You do not know me! is a novel by David Klass, under the title You do not know me by Farrar, Straus and Giroux appeared in the United States in 2001. In the same year followed the Arena -Verlag, the German edition, translated by Alexandra Ernst and 2009, the German paperback edition.

Content

In the novel, it's about the four -year-old John, who lives together with his mother without a father. For some time she has a new friend who moved in with them. He seems to follow no regular job, as opposed to John's mother, who earns in a factory as a layer worker the necessary money for living expenses. There is a power struggle between the man and John. The man wants that he subordinates himself to him, and does not shy from physical abuse. The audible sign of this subordination is that John calls him " Sir ". This designation denied him this, no matter how much he is also abused.

In addition to his home that he does not feel as such, the school is a place of importance for him. Although he has few successful experiences and friends there, but it provides a shelter for him Represents the lies to Gloria Porter, a girl of his grade in which he is in love. He has never spoken to her, but feels between her and a silent agreement. He invites by means of a slip to attend the basketball game of the school team, and thus uses the idea of his best friend and rival, Billy Beanman. But the hoped- mark is missing. Gloria swallowed the note and ignored John. The following day, she seeks before the beginning of class the conversation with him, makes him compliments and accepts the invitation. From this moment John riding a wave of happiness. Both in the classroom and in the orchestra rehearsal he manages everything. He is admired by his classmates, especially by Violet Hayes, a rather unattractive and tomboyish.

On the day of the basketball game, John recognizes almost not even more than he does to Gloria, who lives in the richest area of ​​the city, on the way. He's the friend's mother even $ 20 removed to Gloria that evening something to offer können.Glorias parents and their house make huge impression on him. But above all, in their provocative presentation Gloria excited not only John, but also the attention of her father. The evening does not proceed as planned. The basketball game develops more before kick-off to a mass brawl. John and Gloria can go the fray out of the way and meet on the way home, Gloria's friend Mindy with her boyfriend. John learns of Mindy's friend Toby, how brutal Gloria's father treats the male companions of his daughter when she's caught together. Despite this warning and the alarm bell in his head, John Gloria can result in your party room. Contrary to their insurance her father discovered she and John can just get away from him through the cat hatch. But he had to on his pants all the clothes, leave the jacket with the money.

This will be his undoing when he returned home. The man has noticed the disappearance of the money. But instead of beating up John, he takes him on one of his fishing expeditions. It turns out that there are criminal activities with which he earns his money. John sees himself at his mercy for the first time helpless. He must submit to him, calls him for the first time "Sir". He has worked to exhaustion and does not dare to oppose. But before they go home, the evening for John still holds a surprise. The man tells him that his mother went home to her aunt because of a disease case and that she is his wife after their return. Johns resistance is broken. He does not even sees a chance is to betray the man. He believes that he has lost his mother.

When two days later he again goes to school, he has an unpleasant confrontation with Gloria, where he realizes that she is not the girl but for which he has kept them. But that is the chain of unfortunate events did not end there. He is so busy in thought with himself that he, without noticing it, his thoughts about his math teacher loudly pronounce this and so much hurt. He is from the orchestra rehearsal, which also passes catastrophic, retrieved and brought to the Director, who suspended him for a week from school and place it in the custody of his alleged father.

That same day the man, John finally begins to break. Back at home he beat the boys in the basement with his belt. John is just a bunch of whimpering in the dirt. In the absence of the mother and also deprived of his shelter school, he is the man and his will be delivered completely. He plays both with the idea of running away and kill himself doeth: but neither the one nor the other, because he had so the man without a fight left the field, leaving the victory. In this situation, visited him unexpectedly Violet Hayes and asks him tearfully to accompany her to the prom the school. After initial rigorous rejection he gives Violet find tenacity. In his preparations for the evening, for which he has no clothes, he notes, however, that this visit and her spirit of contradiction has also aroused his opposition to the man and all odds. With clothes endowed by their brother, they spend an evening that John shows what really matters in life. He falls in love with Violet and experienced his first kiss with her.

But John had not expected such difficulties as at home waiting for him in the likeness of man. This has been lying to him and wants to beat him in a drunken state. But this time, John defends himself. Through a bite of John's dog in the leg of the man this is so long distracted that succeeds John to flee from the house. There he is indeed overtaken by the man and mauled, but Mr Steen Willy, a teachers' Johns, who has long been suspicious, John can save lives and giving the man a wanted criminal, the police.

At the hospital, John realizes that he was wrong not only in Violet, but especially in his mother. She has not noticed how John had to suffer, but she has always been on the side of her son. John let himself be influenced too much by the man, instead of talking to her. The novel ends in spite of the life-threatening climax hopeful and promising with John's recovery and the certainty of not having lost his mother and Violet found a true friend.

Narrative perspective

David Klass tells the story from the perspective of the main character John in the first-person perspective. This results in the subjective representation and evaluation of events through John. By using the "you" in the very first sentence of the novel the reader feels immediately addressed and thus also affected by the feelings that move John. During the first chapter, it is clear that John a person actually responds, his mother. However, the conversation with her is not real, but only in his mind instead. This narrative situation, the author shows also that the mother, although conversational partner of John, do not even staying close to him, but is the goal of John's observation. But even that is not true. The observations that hires John, are also purely intellectual nature, because as he puts himself, man must " do not see things in order to know that it happened. "

In the course of the novel Johns switch contact. In chapters three and four, for example, his mental communication addressed to Mr Steen Willy. This is repeated several times later. In many places, the context is an indication, whom John addresses in his thoughts, but at the same number of a caregiver at the level of the novel remains unclear, for example, in Chapter 17 At the beginning of the chapter suggest the formulations that John is addressed to his mother, because he assumes that she will not miss him when he leaves. This assumption is confirmed in lines 31 and 32 on page 174, for who other than his mother could be noticed already at home that he is still there. However, at the moment the mother is refuted as a contact, as John tells of the telephone conversations with her ​​in the hospital with Aunt Rose, for he speaks of her in the third person. The chapter then closes with a change in the second person. In these last few lines to the despair of the boy on the hopelessness of his situation and his silent cry for help from his mother, who does not actually achieved focus.

Just the immediacy of thought, the considerations and evaluations of its environment by John, as it were, a single inner monologue, refer on the one hand the reader very strongly with one, especially at the points where the addressee can not be seen on the narrative level, is to be considered on the other side with caution. The reader must be wondering what is the narrative really so. In the course of events is clear to the reader that John's perception of his surroundings and the events often does not coincide with the reality of the novel. This discrepancy is seen for the reader. A good example of this is the relationship with Gloria, Johns adored. While the reader can classify their behavior towards John to the list handed over very well as negative and considers its commitment the next morning with the necessary skepticism comes for John such an attitude Gloria's simply not in question. It can be bewitched by her kindness and believes their statements while the reader identifies them immediately as lies.

From the contradiction between Johns perception and the fictional reality of the story also involves a part of their comedy. Despite the difficult home situation and ill-treatment by the mother's friend John does not despair, at least not as long as there is a kind of balance of power between him and the man. Just John's imagination opens him a way to cope with this burden and not think to go to ruin. The ability to put thoughts in his situation and the behavior of its counterpart in words and principles and thus to preserve his dignity, can be experienced through the choice of the first-person perspective only to the extent. Thus, John creates his little escapes in mathematics education as well as in the confrontation with the man, it is that he calls Mrs. Gabriel Mrs. Moon face or Mrs garlic breath or manage spins what they "really" says he is, it's that he the man was in thoughts, denied in any kind of depth or meta-communication, the submission that this requires of him. In the moment in which falls the separation of the two planes, breaks over John in the disaster. When he has to help the man with his catch of fish to give it to refund the $ 20, Johns hopeless situation shows that he actually calls him " Sir ". His thoughts no longer speak of rebellion, there is no conceptual parallel communication more instead, only the direct sense, the fear is expressed. The reality has arrived in his thoughts. A similar situation arises when John his thoughts about Mrs Gabriel in mathematics education pronounce aloud. This breaks the mental plane into reality. The catastrophe for John and his terror are immediately visible to the reader. Through the first-person perspective and the mediation of the outside world through his thoughts Johns emotional reality and the influence of the environment on the reader be very immediately, one of the difficulties and strengths of the novel.

Reviews

• Reinhard Osteroth of the weekly Die Zeit praises the rhythm of the " non-parents story " as " impressive " and the " enormous narrative originality " of the combination of education, love and crime story.
• Roswitha Budeus - Budde of the Süddeutsche Zeitung praises the " insane language " and the German translation by Alexandra Ernst.
• Simone Giesen of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung rated history as conventional, but classifies the " charming, funny and original observations " as a positive.
• Rate this news Lübeck the youth book as " great literature and is also very hard to digest ."
• English-language meetings were held, inter alia, in the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Lodi News - Sentinel.

Expenditure

• You Do not Know Me Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York 2001 ISBN 978-0-374-38706-8
• You do not know me! Arena -Verlag, 2001 ISBN 3-401-05328-0 Würzburg
• You do not know me! Arena -Verlag 2009 ISBN 978-3-401-02742-5 Würzburg