Lucia Jay von Seldeneck: 'Weltfrieden'


Book launch

Weltfrieden is an entertaining and bizarre anti-hero story. It's a narrative of the entanglements of the "Treuhand" and an ode to friendship - and to fool's freedom in the second half of life.

"We are the ones that never were."

A good ten years after the German reunification, "Weltfrieden" is to be sold. The kindergarten of the old laboratory plant at the lake has been empty for years. The news spread quickly in the village in Brandenburg - and awakens memories in the colleagues from back then as well as dizzy memories - suppressed for years - of an old life and long-forgotten dreams.

While the former employees Erika and Hermann Grüning are clearing out the property, they come across finds that reveal that the one who transacted the "Treuhand" enriched himself from the factory sale at the time. The pieces of evidence awaken the sense of community in the old workforce that was believed to have been lost - and they suddenly have the opportunity to change the course of things.

Can you let go of a past that gives no rest? »Weltfrieden« examines this question sensitively and with a strong eye for observation - and in doing so overcomes the clichés of those who have been left behind and those who have lost the German reunification.

"The German reunification has not yet been told like this. With authentic, lovable protagonists who are looking for a third way between leaving and resignation. A departure in later years, which is also a return. " (Franziska Walser, RBB Kultur)

Moderator: Anne Gräfe

"Lucia Jay von Seldeneck does not illustrate one truth, but tells a fictional story from the midst of the present. In this fiction lies the power to make present what is absent." (Anne Gräfe)

"A brilliant and touching piece from the Brandenburg provinces. Read and celebrate!" (Gesa Ufer, die Literaturagenten, radioeins)

Lucia Jay von Seldeneck was born and raised in Berlin. After various studies and stays abroad, she initially worked as a journalist and PR manager. She has also published a number of books related to Berlin. Today she works as a freelance author and lives with her family in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Sometimes she prefers to be in the middle of the hustle and sometimes far away from it, at one of the many lakes in Brandenburg. Weltfrieden is her first novel.

Anne Gräfe studied cultural studies, philosophy and aesthetics in Brandenburg and California and did her doctorate on the contingency experience  in contemporary art. She works as a research assistant at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg and previously worked at the Academy of Visual Arts in Munich. In her publications, she traces the ability to make the absent present in art and politics and passionately discusses the complexity of the German reunification in the east and west of Germany.

Further Information

Wednesday, October 12
Kuppelhalle
Start: 7 pm
Tickets at the box office