The Twilight World
The Twilight World (German: Das Dämmern der Welt) is a book written by Werner Herzog. It was published in German by Hanser in 2021. The English translation by Michael Hofmann was published by Bodley Head in 2022. The book is based on the life of Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier, stationed in Lubang during World War II, who refused to surrender until 1974.
Background
Except for The Twilight World, books published by Herzog have been diaries (Of Walking in Ice, Die Eroberung des Nutzlosen) and a memoir (Every Man for Himself and God against All, 2022).[1] Although based on real events, The Twilight World is the first of his books not focused on Herzog's personal experience; it may be considered his first novel.[2]
The book opens by a preamble in which Herzog recalls how he met Onoda in real life in 1997 in Tokyo.[2][3]
Reception
The book has received positive critical response, with reviews in Die Zeit,[4] The New York Times[5] (that dedicated two articles to the publication[6]), The Wall Street Journal[7] and The Guardian,[2] among others. A review in Die Welt, however, found that "sentimentality was never far from this story", regretting the lack of ethic distance from Onoda's deeds during the war, but adding: "So poetry is reactionary. And yet remains breathtakingly poetic."[8]
Theatrical adaptation
The Twilight World was adapted for the stage by Lili Riesenbeck. It was performed at the Schauspiel Köln in February 2023, directed by Michael Königstein, with Kei Muramoto portraying Onoda.[9]
References
- ^ "Every Man for Himself and God Against All by Werner Herzog: 9780593490297 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Archived from the original on 2023-05-14. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
- ^ a b c Byers, Sam (2022-07-08). "The Twilight World by Werner Herzog review – a film-maker's eerie debut". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-05-13. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
- ^ "The Twilight World by Werner Herzog — a director's literary debut". Financial Times. 2022-07-18. Archived from the original on 2023-07-11. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
- ^ "ZEIT ONLINE | Lesen Sie zeit.de mit Werbung oder im PUR-Abo. Sie haben die Wahl". www.zeit.de. Archived from the original on 2023-07-11. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
- ^ Schillinger, Liesl (2022-06-10). "Two Men of the Jungle Meet in Herzog's First Novel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2022-06-20. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
- ^ Alter, Alexandra (2022-06-08). "Werner Herzog's Fever Dreams". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-05-14. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
- ^ Tonkin, Boyd. "'The Twilight World' Review: World War II's Last Combatant". WSJ. Archived from the original on 2023-05-14. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
- ^ "Roman von Werner Herzog: Der einsame Krieg des Leutnants Onoda - WELT". DIE WELT (in German). Archived from the original on 2023-05-13. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
- ^ Köln, Schauspiel. "Das Dämmern der Welt, von Werner Herzog - 30.05.2023, 20.00 - 21.10 | Schauspiel Köln". www.schauspiel.koeln (in German). Archived from the original on 2023-05-14. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
External links
- The Twilight World, on Penguin Books website
- v
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- Filmography
- Bibliography
- Signs of Life (1968)
- Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)
- Fata Morgana (1971)
- Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
- The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)
- Heart of Glass (1976)
- Stroszek (1977)
- Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
- Woyzeck (1979)
- Fitzcarraldo (1982)
- Where the Green Ants Dream (1984)
- Cobra Verde (1987)
- Scream of Stone (1991)
- Lessons of Darkness (1992)
- Invincible (2001)
- The Wild Blue Yonder (2005)
- Rescue Dawn (2006)
- Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)
- My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2009)
- Queen of the Desert (2015)
- Salt and Fire (2016)
- Family Romance, LLC (2019)
- The Flying Doctors of East Africa (1969)
- Handicapped Future (1971)
- Land of Silence and Darkness (1971)
- The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (1974)
- How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck (1976)
- La Soufrière (1977)
- Huie's Sermon (1981)
- God's Angry Man (1981)
- Ballad of the Little Soldier (1984)
- The Dark Glow of the Mountains (1985)
- Herdsmen of the Sun (1989)
- Echoes from a Sombre Empire (1990)
- Jag Mandir (1991)
- Bells from the Deep (1993)
- The Transformation of the World into Music (1994)
- Gesualdo: Death for Five Voices (1995)
- Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997)
- My Best Fiend (1999)
- Wings of Hope (2000)
- Pilgrimage (2001)
- Ten Thousand Years Older (2002)
- Wheel of Time (2003)
- The White Diamond (2004)
- Grizzly Man (2005)
- Encounters at the End of the World (2007)
- Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010)
- Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)
- Into the Abyss (2011)
- On Death Row (2012)
- Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World (2016)
- Into the Inferno (2016)
- Meeting Gorbachev (2018)
- Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin (2019)
- Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds (2020)
- The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft (2022)
- Herakles (1962)
- Game in the Sand (1964)
- The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz (1967)
- Last Words (1968)
- Precautions Against Fanatics (1969)
- No One Will Play with Me (1976)
- Portrait Werner Herzog (1986)
- Les Gaulois (1988)
- La bohème (2009)
- Incident at Loch Ness (2004)
- Of Walking in Ice (1978)
- The Twilight World (2021)
- Every Man for Himself and God Against All: A Memoir (2022)
- Lena Herzog (wife)
- Lucki Stipetić (brother)
- Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980)
- Burden of Dreams (1982)
- Location Africa (1987)
- Plastic Bag (2009)