Das Glück ist ein Engel mit ernstem Gesicht

Reading and Discussion with Josef Winkler, Moderated by Insa Wilke

“I write you— / You have returned to the world / with the haunting power of letters,” Josef Winkler quotes Nelly Sachs as he writes his late sister Maria back into the world. It was she who, during their shared childhood on the farm, took special care of the rebellious Josef. She leaves the village to train as a pastry chef, works for years in a wide variety of hotels, and returns to her parents’ home after the onset of her mental illness and her first suicide attempt, where she encounters her brother Josef, who is also seeking refuge there following the scandal surrounding his first book. The novel *Happiness Is an Angel with a Serious Face* intertwines the homecoming of the prodigal daughter with the return of the prodigal son and tells of the psychological and physical violence of village life.