In one of Ralf Rothmann's new stories, Fritzi, a young guitarist, reflects on William Shakespeare and concludes: "Compared to the worries and troubles of his dark characters, we are really just chickens, aren't we? Shakespeare's chickens. We make an incredible clucking over trivial matters - exams, curling irons, phone brands, money - and yet we all secretly know that it’s not the real deal. That nothing can be the real deal behind the chicken wire." This book depicts dramatic or even uplifting turning points in life, with a language that captivates through its magical precision. Whether we hear about the self-deception of a dying Stasi officer, a failed orgy at the Baltic Sea, the rekindling of love in a Japanese monastery, or the memory of snow: "It’s not this or that state that makes life," says Fritzi. "It’s.".