
A disillusioned scholar named Hubert Feuchtedengel finds himself thrust into the cramped corridors of a provincial hospital, where his mind is haunted by an imagined parasite that he eventually realizes is nothing more than a feverish vision of sepsis. His desperate quest for validation leads him to cling to the notion that his own bodily turmoil is a rare, localized infection, and he clings to the hope that the medical establishment will finally take him seriously.
Within these walls, Hubert’s uneasy partnership with the brusque assistant Werner Strick provides both comic relief and tension. Strick’s gruff demeanor masks a begrudging curiosity, and their oddball exchanges—ranging from absurd examinations to sarcastic insults—highlight the absurdity of bureaucratic medicine. As winter bites and the hospital’s routine spirals into theatrical chaos, Hubert’s obsession grows, promising a strange blend of humor and pathos that keeps listeners wondering how far his delusion will carry him.
Language
de
Duration
~1 hours (108K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Jens Sadowski
Release date
2020-09-26
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1878–1957
Best known for the modernist classic Berlin Alexanderplatz, this German novelist and physician brought the noise, speed, and struggle of city life onto the page with unusual energy. His fiction ranges widely, but again and again it returns to ordinary people trying to survive history as it closes in around them.
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