“La part de l’autre” by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt

For me, books have been an especially satiating pleasure since my childhood. Thus I have a ritual for almost every birthday – I gift myself so many books I barely manage to take home. however, lately on several occasions I discovered that I didn’t feel the familiar wild enthusiasm for books and I am struggling to choose even one I want to by.

Whether this is a function of information overload, my filter is getting narrower, the overwhelming abundance on the bookshelves rebuffs me from the onset… I don’t know…

But I do know that when something truly amazing comes up, the delight is absolute.

The Alternative Hypothesis is the first book I read from Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. There are two unfolding storylines: one is based on historical facts, the other, to put it simply, follows what would have happened if the young Adolf was admitted to an art school. It grabbed me immediately, and, thank God, I started it on Sunday which allowed me to read it at one go. This is, I told myself, what I miss – the fascination, being enveloped by a beautiful and rich language despite the sensitive subject or maybe because of it, the immersion in the story and its (im)possible alternative. For an intellectual challenge which keeps me awake for days and makes me think about the text in depth. I don’t have to say that I would read it a second time. The thoughts from the author’s diary at the end are also priceless, reveling details ‘from the kitchen’ of the book writing process…