Lukas Zbinden leans on the arm of Kazim, as they walk slowly down the stairway towards the door of his old people's home. Step by step, the irrepressible Lukas recounts the life he shared with his wife Emilie and his son. She loved to walk in the countryside; he loved towns and meeting strangers. Different in so many ways, what was the secret of their life-long love? And why is it now so hard for him to talk to his son? Gradually we get to know a man with a twinkle in his eye and learn the captivating story of this man, his late wife, their son and the many people he has met along the way. Zbinden's Progress is heart-rending, heart-warming and hilarious. --- Winner of the Bern Literature Prize 2010
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'With Zbinden's Progress, Christoph Simon has produced a wonderful, heart-rending, beautiful book; multi-layered, witty and moving.' Buchkultur ------ 'Simon's fifth novel is a polished gem, with insight and perception that know no cultural bounds.' Neue Zurcher Zeitung
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Christoph Simon was born in 1972 in Emmental, Switzerland. After travels through the Middle East, Poland, South America, London and New York, he has settled in Berne. His first novel, Franz, or Why Antelopes Run in Herds (2001) has sold over 10,000 copies, while Planet Obrist (2005) was nominated for the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize. Zbinden's Progress is his fourth novel and won the 2010 Bern Literature Prize.
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Lukas Zbinden is an elderly widower living out his days in a Swiss retirement home. "Zbinden's Progress" consists of the old man's monologue as he slowly descends several flights of stairs on the arm of his carer Kâzim. In the course of his journey we hear about his wife Emilie, her wonderful character, and their great love. We also hear about their son Markus with whom he has much difficulty communicating. It is their relationship or lack of one which provides some of the books most painful moments.
Although often endearing Zbinden also reveals himself to be a flawed man, a great talker who doesn't always ask the right questions. Zbinden is also a great walker; he believes that all life's problems can be solved with a walk and much of his monologue consists of elaborations on this theme, which contain gems such as "The opportunity to die peacefully as you do it is a great measure of the rightness of such an activity." Amusingly we hear the effect these discourses have on the other eccentric and cantankerous residents of the home, but occasionally I too wished he would give it a rest; as his wife tells him:
"There is big and little happiness. Big happiness is our love. The little one would be if you'd just listen to the silence."
Although often endearing Zbinden also reveals himself to be a flawed man, a great talker who doesn't always ask the right questions. Zbinden is also a great walker; he believes that all life's problems can be solved with a walk and much of his monologue consists of elaborations on this theme, which contain gems such as "The opportunity to die peacefully as you do it is a great measure of the rightness of such an activity." Amusingly we hear the effect these discourses have on the other eccentric and cantankerous residents of the home, but occasionally I too wished he would give it a rest; as his wife tells him:
"There is big and little happiness. Big happiness is our love. The little one would be if you'd just listen to the silence."
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