Wo bitte geht es hier zum Grizzly

By Anne C.

If I like Author X, I will like Author Y: this is the basic premise behind www.literature-map.com, which provides a graphic rendering of authors with comparable je ne sais quoi, so that readers can expand their libraries on the basis of their known favourites. This sounded good to me until I plugged in A.L. Kennedy’s name. According to the resulting literature map, her work is most akin to that of Helge Sobik, the author of such books as Barbadospractical Travel and Wo bitte geht es hier zum Grizzly, which seems to be set in Western Canada. Am I to conclude that a shared interest in our humble country and its Kanada-Stories somehow unites these two authors? Is the literature map more about geography than anything else?

I studied Sobik’s various author photos for more clues. In one, he is wearing a beautiful scarf, which I must admit I found unsettling. I’ve been spending a little too much time over at The Sartorialist, where it was recently pointed out that a scarf, especially a big one, can be clichéd. Ever since then, I can’t go out into the November cold without feeling bombarded by stereotypes and platitudes from passers-by. Perhaps Sobik wears his scarf as a reminder to keep his writing as fresh as a spring day.

But seriously, German speakers and other generally cultured people, let us know, who is this Sobik and why might we like to read him?

Pictured, me, committing more than one fashion faux-pas, last winter in Somerville, Mass.