TV favorite Hape Kerkeling is one of Germany’s most successful non-fiction authors. Now his cat content is on the bestseller list: the cat book “Paws from the table!”.
Bonn – In his popular conversational tone, Hape Kerkeling describes in his new book “Pfoten vom Tisch! My cats, other cats and me ”, which appeared on Wednesday, his“ cat coming out ”as an eight-year-old. It happened in the summer of 1973 in the Ruhr area, shortly after his mother’s tragic suicide. “Grandma stutters:” We thought you might like a dog? All boys always want a little dog! “, Writes Kerkeling.
“Well, Grandma has apparently still not completely given up hope that one day I will still be able to overnight, oh wonder, how all the boys from the coal pot can turn into a football-playing, bullying and swearword-spitting snot spoon with a biting Doberman on a leash . “But he preferred to have a cat, which he then got. Cat Peterle.
Kerkeling (56), who lives with his husband mainly in Bonn and Italy, has dedicated the cat book to previous house tigers of his life – “For Peterle, Samson, Spock, Anne, Bolli and Kitty” is the beginning.
A book like an operetta
Kerkeling largely canceled interviews related to the new book – the exceptions were the magazine “Stern” (Bertelsmann Group, where he will soon be working on screen again at RTL) and “Bild am Sonntag” (Axel Springer). He told the “BamS”, for example, that he is currently flirting with a Siamese.
He explained to the “Stern” that his previous books had been “more or less gloomy operas with cheerful sprinkles” and that the new book was now more like “an operetta with one or the other mystical throw in”.
What he means by mysticism, he writes in the book: “There are actually some things that remain inexplicable. Sometimes we had to leave our cat Anne in Umbria for weeks and even months. Our gardener Paolo then took over the cat care in close collaboration with the groom Mano. Both confirmed to us: Exactly 48 hours before our return, the cat sat down at the gate and waited patiently. When we reached the driveway with the car, Anne usually sat at the gate. “
The successful author Kerkeling
When it comes to bestsellers in post-war Germany, Hape Kerkeling is in the top category. Most recently, Kerkeling’s childhood memories “The boy needs to get some fresh air” touched millions as a book (2014) and a successful film adaptation (2018) by Caroline Link with Julius Weckauf in the lead role.
His pilgrimage bestseller “Ich bin mal weg” (published in 2006) sold more than five million times. In the history of the “Spiegel” bestsellers, the self-discovery book is right at the top next to the non-fiction classic “Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo” by Christiane F.
“Paws from the table” is a mixture of biography with animal anecdotes, entertainingly presented scientific knowledge of cats, a bit of fairy tales and tips for cat lovers.
Hape admits that he likes “bad cat jokes”: “When cats get too fat, they should have the opportunity to do a little bit of mouse-like exercise in the garden.”
Cats used to be gods
Also: “Please always remember that cats were even worshiped as gods thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt. Don’t you think the kitties have completely forgotten that. You probably know the stupid saying: If a person feeds the dog, the dog says to itself: He must be God! If a person feeds the cat, the cat says to itself: I have to be God! “
It also becomes very practical: “Talk to your cat – a lot. If you like, you talk about them from morning to night. Only when the cat has to, should there be complete meditative calm in the house. After all, it’s not so much different with people either! ”And of course: You shouldn’t leave anything fragile standing around senselessly in the apartment or in open cupboards. “Cats teach you to reduce to the essentials.”
Interesting for all readers of the book or those who listen to audio books: The second best friend Gudrun, who has often been described, does not exist, but she is a mixture of many friends, as Kerkeling confessed in the “Stern” interview. In it he also said how important his withdrawal from the public had been in recent years, “also to question who I am without the work that defines you, especially in Germany”.
And how satisfied Kerkeling is privately with his husband Dirk is also clear: “That is the best thing you can say about yourself. Completely happy!”
Hape Kerkeling: “Paws off the table! My cats, other cats and me ”, 304 p., Hardcover, Piper Verlag Munich, 22.00 euros (Austria 22.70), ISBN 978-3-492-08000-2 dpa
