Without Lifting A Finger

Have lost track of how many times I've read Frisch's Man in the Holocene , but as with all my faves I find something new every time. Liked it so much I've continued on with another Frisch: Montauk . What's below are two "clips" I couldn't resist from Holocene. I have been to Frisch's Berzona, so I could feel it all the more. * Later in the day there is more thunder; and shortly afterward, hail. The white stones, some of them the size of hazelnuts, dance on the granite table; in a few minutes the lawn is a white sheet, all Geiser can do is stand at the window and watch the vine being torn to shreds, the roses, too— There is nothing to do but read. (Novels are no use at all on days like these, they deal with people and their relationships, with themselves and others, fathers and mothers and daughters or sons, lovers, etc., with individual souls, usually unhappy ones, with society, etc., as if the place for these things were assured, the earth for ...

Really it's Max Frisch's. We never really found his house, but after climbing to the top (beyond the church is a nest of stone houses) we met a man going back to our car (he was soaking wet from the rain; I only "think" we understood each other). He seemed to be directing us to somewhere on the main road. The night before we left Locarno we went to Intragna (thank you TomTom!) for a Fodor's Choice restaurant: Grotto du Rii. After visiting Berzona we went through Intragna again. On our way to Italia and then the car transport (tunneling through the Alps, back into Switzerland, on to Montreux) in Sempione (the Simplon Pass). Grotto du Rii's Sign (the little bridge leading to the restaurant is so narrow "road workers" stand guard, directing traffic, 24/7) Max Frish Memorial Plaque The Cemetery behind the Wall The Church and Bell Tower in Berzona (we heard it at 11:00 AM and that's our rental Renault in a very tight...

Alfred Hellmuth Andersch (4 February 1914 – 21 February 1980) was a German writer, publisher, and radio editor. The son of a conservative East Prussian army officer, he was born in Munich , Germany and died in Berzona, Ticino , Switzerland. Martin Andersch, his brother, was also a writer. [From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Andersch  ]

Golo Mann (27 March 1909 – 7 April 1994), born Angelus Gottfried Thomas Mann , was a popular German historian , essayist and writer. He was the third child of the novelist Thomas Mann and his wife Katia Mann . [From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golo_Mann  ]

Berzona is a village and former municipality in the canton of Ticino , Switzerland . In 2001 the municipality was merged with the other, neighboring municipalities Auressio and Loco to form a new and larger municipality Isorno . [1] Berzona is first mentioned in 1265 as Berzona . [2] The village section of Seghelina is located directly on the main road, while the main village is above the road. During the Middle Ages it was part of the Squadra of Onsernone. The church of S. Defendente was built in 1564 and became a parish church when it separated from Loco in 1777. The section of Seghelina has the chapels of Santa Maria (1682) and S. Maria Lauretana (1766). The political municipality was created at the same time as the Canton of Ticino in 1803. [2] After World War II, much of the village population emigrated and sold their properties to outsiders. Many people who bought houses in Berzona were well known personalities from the arts and culture, such as Alfred Andersch , G...

Max-Frisch-Gedenktafel , a photo by Treeshie on Flickr. Apparently Berzona (town in Switzerland's Ticino) is part of what inspired Frisch's Man in the Holocene.