Deutsches Haus

Tell me where you live and Ill tell you who you are. Never before has ones home been such an important part of self-presentation, and never before have there been so many advice books that want to enlighten the public on this topic. How we live is anything but a private affair. On the contrary: nothing more accurately reflects the state of a country and the lifes delusions of its inhabitants than the home furnishings of the Germans. These are the most public of stages, and acted out on them are absurd dramas and grotesque comedies. While reading Peter Richters view of the German household madness, we dont know whether we should be laughing or crying. In the struggle for individuality, everyone is on his or her own. Yet the same questions are posed to everybody: hospital, or holistic birthing house? Rent, or own? And on through life, all the way to: urn, casket, or mausoleum? Press PressOpinions Author Peter Richter was born in Dresden in 1973 and grew up there. He studied in Hamburg and Madrid, earning his doctorate in art history. He presently lives in Berlin, working as an author and columnist for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Monopol, and Deutschland Radio, among others. His first book, Blossoming Landscapes, also published by Goldmann, was a sensational success.