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“You Should Have Left”: A Conversation between Daniel Kehlmann and Eric Banks

Deutsches Haus at NYU and NYU’s Department of German present a reading by Daniel Kehlmann from his novella “You Should Have Left” (Penguin Random House 2017) and a conversation between the author and Eric Banks, the director of the New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU.

“It is fitting that I’m beginning a new notebook up here. New surroundings and new ideas, a new beginning. Fresh air.”

This passage is from the first entry of a journal kept by the narrator of Daniel Kehlmann’s spellbinding new novel. It is the record of the seven days that he, his wife, and his four-year-old daughter spend in a house they have rented in the mountains of Germany–a house that thwarts the expectations of the narrator’s recollection and seems to defy the very laws of physics. He is eager to finish a screenplay for a sequel to the movie that launched his career, but something he cannot explain is undermining his convictions and confidence, a process he is recording in this account of the uncanny events that unfold as he tries to understand what, exactly, is happening around him–and within him.

Daniel Kehlmann is the Eberhard Berent Goethe Chair at NYU’s Department of German. Kehlmann has been honored with numerous awards, including the Candide-Preis (2005), Kleist-Preis (2006), Heimito von Doderer-Preis (2006), WELT-Literaturpreis (2007), Per-Olov-Enquis-Preis (2008), Thomas-Mann-Preis (2008), Prix Cévennes du roman européen (2010), and most recently the Nestroy-Theaterpreis (2012). His publications include the novels “Tyll” (2017), “Du hättest gehen sollen” (2016), “F” (2013), “Ruhm” (2009), “Die Vermessung der Welt” (2005), and “Ich und Kaminski” (2003) as well as the books of essays “Kommt, Geister” (2014), “Lob” (2010), and “Wo ist Carlos Montufar?” (2005). Daniel Kehlmann lives in New York and Berlin.

Eric Banks is the director of the New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU. Formerly a senior editor of Artforum and editor in chief of Bookforum, Banks has contributed to a range of publications, including the New York Times Book Review, the Financial Times, Slate, the Wall Street Journal, Aperture, and the Chronicle of Higher Education, and this past year he served as chair of the jury for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. Banks has also worked as an editorial consultant on numerous visual arts catalogues and collections of artists writings, including the catalogue raisonne of Ellsworth Kelly.

Events at Deutsches Haus are free and open to the public. If you would like to attend this event, please send an email to [email protected]. As space at Deutsches Haus is limited, please arrive ten minutes prior to the event to ensure you get a good seat. Thank you!

“You Should Have Left”: A Conversation Between Daniel Kehlmann and Eric Banks is a DAAD-sponsored event.











When: Mon., Dec. 4, 2017 at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Where: Deutsches Haus at NYU
42 Washington Mews
212-998-8660
Price: Free
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Deutsches Haus at NYU and NYU’s Department of German present a reading by Daniel Kehlmann from his novella “You Should Have Left” (Penguin Random House 2017) and a conversation between the author and Eric Banks, the director of the New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU.

“It is fitting that I’m beginning a new notebook up here. New surroundings and new ideas, a new beginning. Fresh air.”

This passage is from the first entry of a journal kept by the narrator of Daniel Kehlmann’s spellbinding new novel. It is the record of the seven days that he, his wife, and his four-year-old daughter spend in a house they have rented in the mountains of Germany–a house that thwarts the expectations of the narrator’s recollection and seems to defy the very laws of physics. He is eager to finish a screenplay for a sequel to the movie that launched his career, but something he cannot explain is undermining his convictions and confidence, a process he is recording in this account of the uncanny events that unfold as he tries to understand what, exactly, is happening around him–and within him.

Daniel Kehlmann is the Eberhard Berent Goethe Chair at NYU’s Department of German. Kehlmann has been honored with numerous awards, including the Candide-Preis (2005), Kleist-Preis (2006), Heimito von Doderer-Preis (2006), WELT-Literaturpreis (2007), Per-Olov-Enquis-Preis (2008), Thomas-Mann-Preis (2008), Prix Cévennes du roman européen (2010), and most recently the Nestroy-Theaterpreis (2012). His publications include the novels “Tyll” (2017), “Du hättest gehen sollen” (2016), “F” (2013), “Ruhm” (2009), “Die Vermessung der Welt” (2005), and “Ich und Kaminski” (2003) as well as the books of essays “Kommt, Geister” (2014), “Lob” (2010), and “Wo ist Carlos Montufar?” (2005). Daniel Kehlmann lives in New York and Berlin.

Eric Banks is the director of the New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU. Formerly a senior editor of Artforum and editor in chief of Bookforum, Banks has contributed to a range of publications, including the New York Times Book Review, the Financial Times, Slate, the Wall Street Journal, Aperture, and the Chronicle of Higher Education, and this past year he served as chair of the jury for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. Banks has also worked as an editorial consultant on numerous visual arts catalogues and collections of artists writings, including the catalogue raisonne of Ellsworth Kelly.

Events at Deutsches Haus are free and open to the public. If you would like to attend this event, please send an email to [email protected]. As space at Deutsches Haus is limited, please arrive ten minutes prior to the event to ensure you get a good seat. Thank you!

“You Should Have Left”: A Conversation Between Daniel Kehlmann and Eric Banks is a DAAD-sponsored event.

Buy tickets/get more info now