Book Club in German

This is a love story. It’s set in June, in July, in August, in Adana, three thousand kilometres away from Berlin. Berlin is where Zeko lives. In Berlin, he meets men in parks and cafés, on Grindr, and outside the mosque. But every time their lips meet, his mind takes him straight back to Hassan, the boy next door in Adana, who Dede, his grandfather, always called a »son of a dog«. Zeko only knows that noisy neighbourhood and the dust in the alleyways from his summer holidays. Then Dede dies of a heart attack. But Zeko doesn’t want to forget. Not his grandfather, who cut the worries out of old men’s beards and sang in Arabic, not the religious rituals and the taste of bamya. And certainly not Hassan.
»In nine days, I will see Hassan again«, he repeats like a mantra: at Friday prayers, at therapy, at the pool, at lunch with his best friend Pari. But something happened the last time Zeko and Hassan saw each other. Something that keeps surging to the surface with a force that grows stronger with each passing day, as he approaches the date of his return to Adana. Son of a Dog tells a story of love and desire in a radical, poetic way.

A story about the euphoria and vulnerability of loving someone, about the fear and the joy. About quiet cries and loud whispers: at the kitchen table, in stranger’s beds, at prayer time. And in the process, it surveys our fractured present, transcending all the borders between countries, languages, and bodies.

Nils Philippis an art and architecture educator as well as a poet, photographer and decorator. After gaining insightful experiences as a janitor, lifeguard and deli vendor, he now works, among other things, as a bookseller. While he is waiting for his breakthrough as writer or art director, he reads plenty and with pleasure.

About the Village Book Club
• Book lovers and bookworms have been meeting on a bimonthly basis to discuss works of fiction and non-fiction (novels, biographies, and essays) focused on or related to LGBTQIA+ themes and personalities.
• Anticipating insightful discussions, we choose the next book two months in advance.
• While the evening discussions are conducted in German, participants are welcome to read the selected books in their preferred language.
• Free event without registration

** This event is part of the we are village program ‘Belonging versus Lonelines‘, with the support of LADS.
Learn more about the program here.