Reading & Discussion with Journalist and writer Simon Strauss

Simon Strauss, son of the German writer Botho Strauss, was born in Berlin in 1988. While studying the classics and history in Basel, Poitiers and Cambridge, he worked as a freelance journalist for the Basler Zeitung, the Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). He has been a guest observer and guest dramaturge at a theater. Since earning a doctorate at Humboldt University of Berlin in 2016, he has been a writer for the culture section of the FAZ. Strauss will be presenting his debut novel “Sieben Nächte” (“Seven Nights”) at Hapag-Lloyd.

It is nighttime, and a young man is sitting at a desk writing. An acquaintance has made him an offer: For seven times at seven o’clock, he will encounter one of the seven mortal sins. He must be greedy, arrogant and lustful, throw himself off a high-rise building, lose his faith and every restraint. The seven nights are a foray through the city, a test of maturity to safeguard against too much maturity, a final rebellion as youth slips away.

“Simon Strauss tells the tale of someone who goes out to seek eternal youth – and writes a book that is so clever and moving that you want to follow him on the spot.” Theresia Enzensberger

“What a passionate, fearless, tradition-soaked, future-greedy battle of a book against serenity, against the fatigue of those who stay on the correct path, against a life of repetition. It is a manifesto on how to open your heart!” Volker Weidermann

The event is being held in collaboration with the Felix Jud bookstore. The evening will be moderated by Jens Büchsenmann, culture editor for the public broadcaster NDR.

Admission is free. Hapag-Lloyd AG Ballinhaus, Ballindamm 25, 20095 Hamburg. We kindly request that you register by June 11, 2018 by writing to: [email protected]