Arbeit und Struktur by Wolfgang Herrndorf

In 2010, doctors found a tumour in Wolfgang Herrndorf’s brain; he died three years later. During that time, Herrndorf wrote a diary, first in private to keep his friends and family updated, and later in a public blog. After his death, the notes were published as a book, “Arbeit und Struktur.”

Arbeit und Struktur is a testament to Herrndorf’s most productive period. During that time, he published two books; Tschick, his most successful book, commercially, and Sand his best work, in my opinion. It also documents his diminishing health: Headaches, sleepless nights, epilepsy. But it’s his writing that reveals his condition: Towards the end, the entries become shorter, first less complex, later confusing and hard to follow.

Over time, his circle of friends, the people he interacts with, becomes smaller and smaller. A large group at first, with many well-known German authors amongst them, but towards the end, it’s only a handful.

Writing publicly about his experiences obviously attracted doctors offering alternative approaches to treat his tumour—so many that Herrndorf felt the need to publicly request not to write or call him anymore. To him, it would have been no surprise that some medics in Germany became COVID-denying conspiracy theorists.