Richard

The novel’s protagonist is a retired Professor of Classical Philology named Richard, a man who has lived alone in Berlin since the death of his wife. With time on his hands and fluctuating between finding something new to do and wrestling with the past, Richard brings his skills and experience into a new environment. On a visit to town, he walks past a new community on Oranienplatz, the plaza, where African asylum seekers have set up a tent city. He finds out about their protest only later on the news, and learns that Oranienplatz had been occupied by African refugees and their supporters for over a year. The narrative questions, as does Richard later, why he had not seen the men. His ignorance bothers him, and like a good researcher, he decides to find out more. Determinedly, he sets about investigating in a way that is typical of an academic. Richard slowly gets to know the men, his life starts to change, and his own sense of belonging is thrown into question.

Richard’s character is seen in each encounter. At first, when a meeting is plunged into darkness, he fearfully retreats then berates himself, fully aware of his own cowardice. His inquisitive nature is prominent as he designs lists of questions to ask the refugees but, to his credit, he is flexible and sees that the questionnaire is too blunt a tool to dissect such a complex issue. His generosity is coupled with a pragmatic side, seen when he gifts some refugees with clothing, a small piano keyboard, a block of land and, eventually, a place to stay. He is vulnerable to being hurt, and suffers when Osarobo appears to have betrayed his trust or when Karon doesn’t respond with the gratitude he had expected, but is thoughtful enough to get over it when he has time to put it in context.

Acutely aware of the temporal nature of things, Richard sees his belongings and himself as passing in time. Further to this, the guilt he feels about cheating on his wife weighs heavily on his heart. It is always there like the drowned man trapped in a frozen lake that he constantly references. In the end, we see Richard overcoming his sense of dread, his loss for what to do and his academic mindset, to genuinely care for the refugees.

Richard Quotes

What’s he going to do with the thoughts still thinking away in his head? Chapter 1

He’s had his share of success. Chapter 1

He would have been left behind outright if it hadn’t been for a Russian soldier who handed him to his mother through the window of a train. Chapter 3

Why didn’t he see the men? We become visible. Chapter 4

Is the only freedom the fall of the Berlin wall brought him the freedom to go to places he is afraid of? Chapter 6

If truth be told Richard wouldn’t mind beating a retreat. Chapter 12

He and his friends still aren’t done exploring all the blessings of this other world that has become more and more tightly entwined with theirs over the past twenty-five years. Chapter 15

… the usual story, shame and remorse – the crooked pair has made him cower too… Chapter 16

Richard wished he knew what questions would lead to the land of beautiful answers. Chapter 20

But his failure isn’t what matters here. He’s not what matters. Chapter 20

He feels irritated… this African isn’t as happy and grateful as he expected. Chapter 24

When did he turn from being a man filled with great hope for mankind into an almsgiver? (about Richard) Chapter 37

What other things might be lurking in the dark reaches of his memory that will never again be dragged out of storage, before closing time arrives and the lights go out for good. Chapter 40

Richard, sitting at breakfast like other readers of this major German newspaper, in a warm house, toast, tea, orange juice, honey and cheese before him. Chapter 46

All of them think for a moment about women they have loved, who once loved them. Chapter 55

Detlef and Sylvia

Husband and wife, Detlef and Sylvia, are good friends of Richard and have been for a long time. They knew him while he was working at the university and were friends with his wife when she was alive. They are going through their own struggles, Sylvia not being well, however, are always ready to invite Richard over for dinner, parties or walking. It appears that without them Richard’s social life would diminish and he would be lost in his books. Ever understanding of the refugee situation as Richard reveals it to them, Detlef and Sylvia eventually ‘say that the guest house in their garden has a small wood stove, so if the men don’t mind having to keep the fire going . . . The three pool players don’t mind in the least’.

Detlef and Sylvia Quotes

The reason they were doing so much better than, say, these three African men Richard was talking about? The ones sitting on this sofa were post-war children … (Richard, Detlef and Sylvia) Chapter 19

But maybe they’ll have it better there … a sign they are going to be accepted. (Sylvia) Chapter 33

What if the drowned man tried calling out to them from beneath the ice, and they saw him beneath their feet … but in the time it would take to fetch an axe … he would have sunk back down. Chapter 49

Peter

A friend, academic and archaeologist Peter keeps in contact with Richard, and is often the source of morsels of information that Richard uses to process what is going on around him. Peter is dating a woman much younger than him and invites Richard to one of her parties. It is there that he tells Richard that, for the Inca’s, the centre of the universe wasn’t a point but a line where two halves of the universe met. Richard begins seeing opposing groups of people as facing off, something like the two halves of a universe, people who actually belong together but whose separation is unalterable; he sees the barriers between resident and refugee, rich and poor, man and woman. Peter joins at the end to help house refugees after the final legal decision to move the refugees has been declared.

Monika and Jörg

Former friends of Richard, Monika and Jorg express a typical ignorance when they joke about seeing refugee women working as prostitutes and having many diseases. Just as through Detlef, Sylvia and Peter, Richard gains positive insight, it is through Monika and Jorg that Richard eventually comes to see the aggression with which Germans and Italians deny refuge to the Africans as warlike action. The contrast between Jörg and Monika, who holiday in Italy and benefit from freedom of movement, and the refugees’ precarious ability to move, reveals the privilege and luxurious nature to travelling.

Monika and Jorg Quotes

You really have to be careful, a lot of times they’re carrying illnesses – hepatitis, typhus. AIDS. Or so I hear. (Monika about the Africans) Chapter 42

… these guys still believe in the medicine man. You dance around him in a circle a few times and he’ll be as good as new. (Jorg) Chapter 48

Rashid

Somewhat of a leader to the group, the well-built Rashid, a refugee from Nigeria, seems an imposing character. However, the narrative reveals an incredibly sad story of a man fighting for the rights of himself and others. Rashid was married with two children in Libya, but when he crossed the Mediterranean on an overcrowded boat with his two children, it capsized, and 550 people, including his children, died. The first to be interviewed by Richard, Rashid’s story is a stark deviation from the questions Richard had been asking, which prompts Richard to admit his questions are not the right ones to ask.

What vegetation is there in your country? Do people have pets? Did you learn a trade? When the Italian coast guard tried to take the refugees aboard, all of them rushed to one side of the boat, and that’s why the boat capsized. … Did you go to school? Rashid couldn’t swim. He grabbed onto a cable, and this is how he remained above water.

Rashid reveals a painful and confusing story of multiple losses: the sectarian violence in his hometown Kaduna, his stay in Libya, his journey to Europe. Within these dark and tragic events, colourful descriptions of life ‘before’ give insight into the man who many in Germany will come to judge without even hearing his story. On the eve of Eid Mubarak, the religious holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, when the family home is scrubbed and made tidy by the women in preparation for the festivities, a radical Islamist group, modelled on Boko Haram, had carried out a horrific massacre in Rashid’s community, burning down his village and killing his father among many others.

Rashid’s health falters as the group fights desperately to stay and work in Germany. He has a heart condition, which he does not mention to Richard; Richard finds out from a government worker. He also learns that when Rashid was scheduled for treatment, he left the program to help one of the other men, which highlights his selfless nature. Rashid fights desperately for change, not just to serve his own needs, but for refugees to come. He is passionate. On the Monday when he receives the letter advising that he has to leave, Rashid pours a can of gasoline over himself on Oranienplatz and tries to light himself on fire.

Rashid Quotes

From one day to the next I had no father, no family, no house, no workshop. (Rashid) Chapter 18

There was childhood. There was day to day life. There was adolescence. (Richard on Rashid’s life) Chapter 18

Its normal here, Rashid says, were happy. Chapter 34

Were glad when we have something to do, Rashid says. Chapter 34

Under the water I saw all the corpses. (Rashid) Chapter 41

Even today sometimes I think I see one of our children suddenly walking through the door. (Rashid) Chapter 41

If you could see me doing my work, says Rashid, … you would see a completely other Rashid. You know, he says, for me working is as natural as breathing. Chapter 41

‘broker a reconciliation between Christian and Muslim in Nigeria’. (Rashid) Chapter 43

Rashid says he wished he could cut off his memory. Chapter 55

Ithemba

Tall Ithemba is a quiet and caring man. He is seen as a good cook and, when given the opportunity, prepares meals for the other men in Spandau. When Richard comes to visit, he is hospitable and prepares a special meal each time. Richard feels conflicted, he is ‘moved, but hates how he gets when he feels that way’. This shows that even with few resources, the refugees still believe in the principle of hospitality which was a constant in their home countries. Ithemba has a lawyer and Richard drives him to an appointment. However, despite the effort and genuine concern of the lawyer, the law is set against him since his first entry was in Italy. The convolutedness of the European law, namely the Dublin agreement, tie Ithemba and Osarobo to Italy because that is where they first landed in Europe and applied for asylum.

Apollo

Apollo is given his name by Richard as that is how he expected Apollo would look. Apollo is the Greek god of music, poetry, light, prophecy, and medicine, and one of the Twelve Olympian gods who live on Mount Olympus. The young man is described as youthful with curly hair that bounces as he runs. Like Rashid, Apollo also cannot be understood in terms of the questions Richard has prepared. The question, ‘Don’t you have any family?’ is met with total silence. Erpenbeck inserts several free indirect speech constructions to focus on the thoughts of the migrant: The boy is silent. Why should he tell a stranger that he doesn’t know why he never had any parents? … Why should he tell him that he doesn’t know if his parents are still alive? When questioned about which country he is from the young man says he is from the desert and speaks Tuareg. These two facts are more important than arbitrary lines on a map in this man’s life. Apollo’s home in the deserts of Niger, in the region where France is prospecting for uranium. Their methods have affected the water table, forced hardship on the locals and incited tribal conflict.

Apollo Quotes

If you eat more, you become like an infant … too spoiled. (Apollo) Chapter 38

‘file lawsuit against Areva group (France) install a new government in Nigeria’. (Apollo) Chapter 43

Awad (Tristan)

In the mythological story of Tristan and Iseult, Tristan is the nephew of King Mark of Cornwall, who was sent to fetch Iseult back from Ireland to wed the king. However, he and Iseult accidentally consume a love potion and fall helplessly in love. The pair then undergo numerous trials that test their secret affair, before the tragic end. This is the name Richard bestows upon Awad. Awad from Ghana lost his mother at birth, grew up with his grandmother until the age of seven and then moved to Libya accompanied by his father. An enthusiastic narrator, Awad ignores Richard’s clinical approach to questioning as well as his repeated intermediate question ‘And then?’ These last phrases seem to serve as mere encouragement for the Ghanaian’s account and its eventual traumatic ending in Libya: And then? ‘Then my father was shot’. After his father was murdered by the army during the war against Gaddafi, Awad, together with many other African immigrants and Arabs, was rounded up by militia and taken to barracks where he and the others were beaten and dispossessed of their few belongings, including the SIM cards in their mobile phones. They were then forced onto boats and sent to Europe as retribution by Gadaffi. Awad’s story, like many others, highlights Erpenbeck’s distortion of time in Go, Went, Gone. The tragic story disturbs the sense of chronological order that governs the narrative discourse. Trauma is without regular timing and deeply disruptive as it turns the past into a never-ending nightmare that slices into the present.

Awad (Tristan) Quotes

And beyond that she has no name, she remains trapped in this lower stratum and silently sinks back down again. (About trying to remember Awad’s grandmother) Chapter 14

On this day, I saw the war. (Awad) Chapter 14

War destroys everything. (Awad) Chapter 14

I can’t see myself anymore, can’t see the child I used to be. (Awad) Chapter 14

When you’re foreign you don’t have a choice anymore Tristan says. Chapter 17

The thinking has been locked up in his head and is pounding his skull from the inside. (Awad) Chapter 27

Awad thinks and notes the panic rising up in him. Chapter 27

… there probably isn’t much I can do. (Awad’s lawyer) Chapter 35

Karon Anubo

Karon, a thin man who seems to wander through Erpenbeck’s novel, appears in the background but eventually becomes known to Richard. His invisibility is typical of the plight of refugees, who even produce a sign ‘we want to be visible’ as an antidote to their status as the unseen citizens. Karon is seen sweeping the stairs from bottom to top and, as the dust only resettles to where he has just swept, his task seems endless and without results. This mirrors the feeling the refugees have as they continue to seek refuge and work but are met with continuous disappointment. Karon eventually comes into focus as he reveals his past life and hardships. What makes Karon’s story so remarkable is the way in which Erpenbeck interweaves his first-person account with the description of Richard and his recall for their conversation. Richard’s routine of turning on the lights in the sitting room, library, and kitchen is disturbed as he replays the thin man’s first-person narration in his mind. Later, he sees him like a ghost sweeping Richard’s house. The first sentence uttered by Karon, ‘I look in front of me and behind and I see nothing’ is again characteristic of the cycle of despair of the refugees.

Karon sends most of the social benefits he receives as remittances to his family because, as the oldest son, he must provide for them. When he is summoned to the police in Berlin to produce his identity papers, he is worried that, after the interview, he will be sent back to Italy and be unable to feed his family. In a conversation, Richard asks what a plot of land would cost in Ghana that could feed Karon’s family. The three thousand Euro cost seems small, compared to Richard’s vacuum cleaner and other costs that Germans pay for unnecessary things, and Richard offers to pay. Richard seems surprised that Karon is not more grateful, then reasons that hope is beyond Karon. Eventually, Richard accompanies Karon to a mysterious shopfront where his cash is dropped in a crack in the floor and, in return, codes are given for the money transfer. After the land purchase, Karon messages Richard: ‘Hi Richard. I just want to see how are you doing, Richard. I don’t know how to thank you. Only God no my heart but anyway wat I can say is may God protect you. always Good morning. Karon’. Always good morning, Richard thinks is a heart-warming expression and he is deeply moved.’

Karon’s questions to Richard exemplify his caring nature and the unselfish quest of many of the refugees. Karon asks If he can’t stay in Germany after the interview, where can he go? Where can he find a job in Italy? How can he feed his mother and siblings? He wonders Where in the world is the place where he can lie down to sleep in peace? He articulates that ‘The problem is very big’ and he is very small. He says ‘I have no wife and children but the problem has a wife and many, many children’.

Karon Anubo Quotes

‘eradicate corruption, cronyism, and child labour in Ghana’. (Karon) Chapter 43

Karon’s worries have ground him down to such an extent that he’s even afraid to hope. Chapter 43

Karon writes back: I have no body. Chapter 47

The ghosts, Karon says, only come as far as the Italian coast. Chapter 53

I looked in front of me and behind me and saw nothing. Chapter 23

Osarobo

Like Ithemba, Osarobo first came to Italy and applied for asylum, which will punctuate his time in Germany and, eventually, be the reason he is expected to leave when the final ruling comes down from the government. In their first conversation, the eighteen-year-old tells Richard that he has lost all his friends, and that he witnessed many of them die while crossing over from Libya to Italy. He has already spent three years in Europe without any sense of a future or hope. Richard tries to give him hope and asks if there is anything he wants to do. Osarobo says he wants to play the piano and, seizing the opportunity, Richard begins to teach him the piano at his house.

The interactions reveal a lot about Richard and how he negotiates the relationships with the refugees. Despite the obvious symbolism observed that the black and white keys tell stories that have nothing at all to do with the keys’ colours, the relationship between Richard and Osarobo is not so harmonious. As an educator, Richard often seeks opportunities to teach but has to refrain from doing so when he realises that extra information can also be a burden as well as a blessing. Osarabo has never heard of the world wars and does not recognise the name Hitler. It makes Richard feel deeply ashamed of Germany’s personal secret, and that it would be an unreasonable burden to share with someone else.

Osarobo has a map to Richard’s house from the nursing home but struggles to understand it. The fact that Osarobo, who travelled from Niger by way of Libya to Italy, and then from Italy to Berlin, has never before seen a map of any city or country on earth is a reminder that the refugees’ skills are not truly reflected in their ability to negotiate European objects or language.

Osarobo is given a gift from Richard of a keyboard that can be rolled up and fits into a small backpack so that he can earn a little money playing on the street. Ashamed by his admission that Osarobo’s future is unlikely to be bright, Richard wonders at what point he transmuted from a man with great hopes into an almsgiver. In some ways, for Osarobo, it is a friendship of utility but for Richard it is a friendship of pleasure.

Osarobo breaks Richard’s heart as he is left alone at Richard’s house when he attends a conference. Richard returns home from a conference and finds that his house has been burgled, he is troubled by the thought that perhaps Osarobo broke into his house because he knew that Richard would be away. Osarobo avoids all attempts to talk things over, sending evasive text messages and failing to turn up for their meetings. Richard’s final attempt to meet Osarobo at the World Clock in Alexanderplatz ends with Richard returning home and sitting at his desk weeping, as he had done when his wife died.

Osarobo Quotes

No I lost all my friends… I saw them die, many, many people died. (Osarobo) Chapter 20

The way he’s standing there, he looks like a blind man. (Osarobo, lost) Chapter 32

… watching and listening as these three musicians use the black and white keys to tell stories that have nothing at all to do with key’s colours. Chapter 32

In the subway the Italians get up and sit somewhere else if I sit next to them. (Osarobo) Chapter 42

He can already see them baring their teeth like the lions in Osarobo’s profile picture: What did we tell you? (about people like Monika and Jorg) Chapter 52

Or maybe it wasn’t Osarobo after all. Chapter 52

Other Asylum Seekers

Rufu

Rufu is called ‘The moon of Wismar’ by Richard, a reference to the full moon over Wismar, a port and Hanseatic city in Northern Germany, located on the Baltic Sea. He is very shy and keeps to himself, and is even used as an example of singular speech by the teacher in the language class.

Rufu had learned some Italian and so when Richard finds he is bored, he asks if he wants to read Dante, the only Italian book he has. Rufu is a vessel to teach Richard some lessons. He reveals the underlying mistrust that Richard has in common with other Germans when, at the supermarket, Richard runs into Rufu but when Richard can’t find his wallet at the register, a thought surfaces that Rufu may have stolen it. Rufu subsequently pays for Richard’s groceries and won’t accept repayment. Richard insists the shy man come home for lunch and when they arrive at his house, Richard finds his wallet where he had dropped it on the floor.

Rufushows that, above all, listening and asking the right question is imperative in establishing genuine relationships with refugees. When he seems sullen and distracted, he is given medication that Richard finds out is an outdated mental health remedy. After some time, it turns out Rufu simply had a severely infected tooth that would have nearly driven him mad with pain.

Ali

Ali is from Chad and works as a home health-care aide for Anne, a friend of Richard, who needed help with her mother. He wanted to be a nurse and it seems like he would have been really good at it, if, of course, circumstances had been different. Anne’s mother is frightened of him because he is black and although Anne dismisses this as a generational thing, it is a strong reminder of the type of opposition he will face. When the ruling arrives that the Germans will no longer support the refugees, Anne takes Ali into her home.

Khalil

Khalil doesn’t know where his parents are, or even if they’re still alive. He lost track of them when he was forced onto a boat during the Libyan conflict.

Zani

Zani has a bad eye. He collected articles about the massacre in his hometown.

Yussuf

Yussuf, from Mali, was a dishwasher who wants to become an engineer.

Hermes

A man with golden sandshoes, whom Richard names Hermes, is sighted by Richard among the refugees. Hermes was a messenger of the Greek gods who was gifted with a pair of golden sandals to speed his movements.

Abdusalam

Is a singer with a squint.

Mohamed

A young man who, for reasons of fashion, lets his pants slip down below his buttocks.

Yaya

Yaya cut through the wire for the alarm bell to end the fire drill. He was willing to protest further but is subordinate to Rashid.

Zair

A friend of Rashid, Zair was sitting next to him in the same capsizing boat. Zair can’t swim but as the boat began to tip upside down, he climbed over the edge of the boat and stuck up in the air along its underside from where he was rescued.

Other Asylum Seeker Quotes

One Thursday in late August ten men gather in front of Berlin’s town hall. According to news reports they’ve decided to stop eating. Chapter 2

They speak English, French Italian as well as other languages that no one here understands. Chapter 2

If nothing special happens, then I can’t make a story out of it. (Journalist asking police about the men) Chapter 2

We become visible. (sign in front of hunger strike men) Chapter 2

What’s a refugee doing with a laptop? the neighbour thinks. Chapter 6

… they refuse to believe the world is in idyllic place (sympathisers in square) … The refugees on the other hand are trying to gain admittance to this world that appears to them convincingly idyllic. Chapter 8

In other words, so-called ‘asylum fraud’ is nothing more than telling a true story in a country where no one’s legally obliged to listen, much less do anything in response. Chapter 15

The foreigner … is trapped between the now invisible fronts in an intra-European discussion that has nothing at all to do with him or the actual war he’s trying to escape from. Chapter 15

It’s difficult to learn a language if you don’t know what is for. Chapter 16

When you’re foreign you don’t have a choice anymore Tristan says. Chapter 17

They assail these newcomers with their secret weapon called time, poking out their eyes with days and weeks, crushing them with months. Chapter 17

Hope is what is keeping them alive, and hope is cheap. Chapter 21

‘The planet’s already incredibly overpopulated anyhow’ GodOfSlaughter. Chapter 34

‘Let’s save our cash for Granny – not the Roma and the Sinti’ Party Slogan. Chapter 34

At first … my mother was scared of him because he’s black… (Anne) Chapter 37

You mustn’t forget she belongs to a completely different generation. (about Anne’s mum) Chapter 37

None of them has his own apartment or even his own bed; all their clothing comes from donations. There’s no car, no stereo, no gym membership, no outings, no travel, no wife, no children … Chapter 38

The German language is my bridge into this country. (Ali) Chapter 42

Under different circumstances, he’d no doubt already be enrolled in medical school. (About Ali) Chapter 42

Let’s make friends. (Protest march slogan) Chapter 45

.. the thunderbolt hurler is so occupied with hurling his bolts he doesn’t hear: Change the Law! Chapter 45

A friend, a good friend, is the best thing in the world. Chapter 45

Where can a person go when he doesn’t know where to go? Chapter 54

All of them think for a moment about women they have loved, who once loved them. Chapter 55

For the refugees, preserving their dignity is an arduous task. Chapter 55