February 14, 2020, 19:46
February 14, 2020, 19:46
Update: Mar 11th 2020, 3:33 am
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Heilbronn Folk festival, avenue, cream: The scenes in Cihan Acar’s novel “Hawaii” should be familiar to many in the region. The young writer from Bad Friedrichshall tells how a failed professional soccer player in Heilbronn tries to gain a foothold again.
Young writer Cihan Acar wrote a Heilbronn novel. The Hawaii Quarter gave the book the title. Photo: Mario Berger
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Not everything in life always goes according to plan. Sometimes fate suddenly throws you off track. In the case of Kemal Arslan, it is his car that throws him off the road. The leg: gone. The big dream of a career as a professional footballer in Turkey as well. So the early 20-year-old returns to his hometown Heilbronn.
The atmosphere boils up within a few hot June days. Because two hostile groups – rights and migrants – are coming closer and closer together. Meanwhile, Kemal roams aimlessly. Tried to build on old friendships, recapture his ex-girlfriend Sina, and convince his parents that he could start over. These once came to Germany from Turkey and now live in the Hawaii district.
Acar moved to Berlin to write his book
“I’ve dragged it around with me for years,” author Cihan Acar says of this story, “now it’s written out.” It took him a while to put the first chapters of “Hawaii” – the title of his debut novel – on paper. “I still had the university that ran at the same time,” recalls Bad Friedrichshaller. He noticed: If he really wants to implement his idea, he has to get involved.
So he put his law studies in Heidelberg on hold and moved to Berlin for half a year. Instead of just relying on inspiration there, he went about his work in a disciplined manner. Acar: “You have to set a fixed number of hours every day for writing.” From a distance, he was able to develop a different view of Heilbronn.
Popular festival hustle and bustle on the Theresienwiese, a party in the Club Creme, street battles on the avenue: readers from the region will recognize many of the novel’s scenes. But what he enjoyed most was that he could invent his own Heilbronn and set other accents here and there, Acar says. The decision to have scenes played in the Hawaii district was made spontaneously.
“Throughout history, the neighborhood has become increasingly important”
“In the course of history, the district and the name Hawaii became more and more important, they have continued to develop, in the end it was the best fit that” Hawaii “should also be the title,” explains Bad Friedrichshaller.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=/klopNz-RM-0
Because his parents were also born in Turkey, he himself lived in Istanbul for a while and likes to play football, it makes sense to compare the main character with her author. He in turn rumbles: “You can’t prevent a lot from your own history from being incorporated.” But he did not want to create “Hawaii” too autobiographically. “Kemal is like a younger brother of mine,” he says.
Book premiere
On Tuesday, February 18, the book premiere of “Hawaii” will take place at 8 p.m. in the Boxx in the Heilbronn Theater.
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In the final, the situation is completely out of control
Even if Acar doesn’t like to talk about literary role models: Due to the episodic nature of the story and the lost character of its protagonist, “Hawaii” reminds us of JD Salinger’s “Der Fnger im Roggen”. “I really like the tone of this book. The character feels as real as if it were talking to you while telling a story,” he says. Acar, on the other hand, is much more surreal in the final when the situation in some districts is completely out of control.
He was able to convince Hanser Berlin with this mix. The publisher has included the book in its current program. Acar is currently preparing for readings and interviews. He already has enough ideas for further stories. Will they play in Heilbronn again? That leaves Acar open. “You should do something new with every book, I want to experiment a lot,” he says. On the other hand, it also means that you should write about what you know best. First of all, however, he wants to take his exam. Plans and such.
To person
Cihan Acar was born in 1986 in Bad Friedrichshall, where he now lives again. After school, he flirted with being a journalist for a while and reported for the German press agency from Turkey, for example. Finally, he decides to study law in Heidelberg. In his spare time he likes to play soccer. After various positions – among others at FC Union Heilbronn – he is currently putting on sports shoes for his first club, Spvgg Oedheim. Cihan Acar wrote two non-fiction books – one about the Turkish sports club Galatasaray and one about hip hop. “Hawaii” is his first novel. This will be published on Monday by the Hanser Berlin publishing house (256 pages, 22 euros).
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