What Do Kasperl, Scrooge McDuck and Nestroy Have in Common? Three Books from Spectrum

It does not always have to be Kasperl. The literary magazine Salz has followed the success of its collection of “first readings” with a new volume in which authors recall how they began reading. The contributors write with striking honesty about their early encounters with books and comics, including “Clever & Smart” and “Kara Ben Nemsi,” alongside children’s classics. Bettina Balàka, Michael Stavarič and Heinz Janisch are among those sharing their memories. The review calls it a deeply uplifting read.

Rainer Moritz takes a different route, asking what connects Scrooge McDuck with Emma Bovary and why people read at all. His collection of favorite figures from world literature argues that reading can open the door to foreign worlds, offer an escape from everyday surroundings and help readers place themselves in other people’s lives. His selection includes the town crier Troubadix from the Gaulish village, the Little Witch from childhood and, naturally, Emma Bovary and Scrooge McDuck.

The third recommendation follows a true Viennese who suddenly finds himself in Graz. In Egyd Gstättner’s novel “Destroy Nestroy,” the protagonist steps in for a female professor and must teach lectures on Nestroy for an entire semester. Before long, he begins behaving like his subject, asking uncomfortable questions and performing before his students.

The novel also opens up Nestroy’s literary world, including the detail that the playwright chose Graz as his “retirement home.”

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retirement home