Spiegel liebt mich

Wer hätte das gedacht? Mein bescheidenes Werk in “Spiegel”. Und aus dem Feder von Henryk M. Broder auch noch.

The second best thing just happened to me that can happen to a writer in Germany: Henryk M. Broder, a star columnist with Germany's leading newsweekly, the all-powerful "Spiegel" wrote me up in their online edition.

And what a write-up! The guy loved the book. And this is a guy who doesn't love many books. He liked the way I made fun of Germans' fascination with their own souls, with their fear of being "McDonaldized," with their relationship to their state and to their fear of Neo-Nazis. He compared me with Michael Moore, Alfred Grosser, Woody Allen, Philip Roth and Bob Dylan. Why? I don’t know. He wrote, "Maybe the difference between a missionary and a journalist isn't as big as one might think. What they both have to have is good powers of observation and a talent for reducing complex stories to their core." He closed with: "Now that's an example for a realistic and future-oriented attitude of the kind that one doesn't find in Germany every day." (Read the entire article here.)

Only later did I find out that there is one honor even greater than a great review by Broder – a really, really bad one. Hell, I'll take what I can get.

Thank you, Mr. Broder. It was an honor.