River Without Shores

«Epilogue» - the fourth book, completing the publication of the great experimental novel «River Without Shores». This novel is a revolution in sensory perception, a unique phenomenon of world literature of the 20th century.

«Epilogue» (published posthumously in 1961) - a fragment of the unfinished third part of «River Without Shores», the main work of the German writer, created between 1935-1947 on the Danish island of Bornholm. The novel reflects the fragmentation that Yann perceived at the end of his life as a characteristic feature of his entire activity: «My own life represents a series of unfinished or unfinishable processes», - he wrote to the publisher Peter Surkamp in May 1958.

At the center of the coming-of-age narrative is the meeting of Nikolai, the illegitimate son of composer Gustav Anias Horn and Gemma, and Ajax, the murderer of his father, who poses as Horn's friend, Alfred Tutain. In this part, events, which previously diverged in time and space, are viewed from a new perspective.

The book contains comments by translator and philologist Tatyana Baskakova, as well as a detailed article about the recurring images of the novel, supplemented by a color insert with dozens of works of art that help to understand Yann's creativity.

««River Without Shores» conjures a world that does not exist, which exists only in our dreams and desires, in our premonitions and obsessions, in our despair and our uplifting impulses. Yann fulfills the fundamental requirement for any work of art: he creates his own world, belonging only to him, within and through language. «River Without Shores» is the vaulted archway of fate, a monumental reflection on life and death, with the supporting pillars named Vanity and Transience. The only thing that can retain the sheen of the earthly is art.» Uwe Schweikert

«Man... I beg fate to show him compassion, even if he is the worst of the outcasts.» Hans Henny Jahnn