Measuring The World

Daniel Kehlmann's novel tells the double biographies of two German geniuses: the explorer Alexander von Humboldt and the mathematician and astronomer Carl Friedrich Gauss. As the one travels half the globe and leaves no river mountain or lake unmeasured, the other spends his entire life within the grid square of Braunschweig/ Goettingen - but nevertheless penetrates into spheres where parallels meet in infinity. With a subtle sense of humor, Kehlmann paints the picture of two important men with all their desires and shortcomings - and highly imaginatively describes the balancing act between ridiculousness and greatness, failure and success. Dirk Engler's stage adaptation presents the material in an "almost Anglo-Saxon restrained realism. In other words: with surprisingly great and fun-filled recognition value for all enthralled readers of the novel.» (Der Spiegel)