I. The Puzzle: Three Mirrors The Three Mirrors Mirror I: Blasphemy and Batak In 1989, a work of fiction that interpreted the life of Muhammad through the tools of modern literature was declared blasphemous. Not because it called for violence, but because it offered an…

I wrote this piece back in 2009, in the aftermath of what I can only describe as a silent collapse — the kind that happens not with drama or disaster, but with quiet, daily erosion. At the time, I was a middle-aged father, freshly separated, living abroad, and raising two…

„Shall I leave you alone?“ his mother asked from behind, and coughed – sharp, cutting. He didn’t answer, pulled one of the stools toward him and sank heavily onto it. The coffin swayed threateningly, and he propped it with his knee, glancing in alarm at the dead man, who had…

Köpenik, Berlin, the beginning of the new century „This isn’t you,” she said in a tremulous voice. „I don’t recognize you like this.” Regaining control, she repeated, „This isn’t you.” He flared up. „You, how do you know who I am? You think you know me so well? After a few…