Peter Stamm's latest novel, To the Back of Beyond, gets underway with one of the most extraordinary opening scenes in contemporary fiction. After returning from a relaxing family holiday, happily married Thomas drinks a glass of wine with his wife Astrid at their home in Switzerland. When she goes to check on their children, he stands up and, without saying goodbye, walks out and disappears for 20 years.This deeply enigmatic yet wholly entrancing novel – the sixth of Stamm's to appear in English – flits between Thomas's solo cross-country travels and Astrid's attempts to carry on a normal life.
Stamm gives no explanation for Thomas’s baffling departure in the book, and so I am doubtful that he will give one in person. When I meet him, I try my luck and ask anyway. Clearly anticipating this, Stamm smiles and shrugs. “Edmund Hillary was asked why he climbed Everest. His answer was because it was there. Maybe Thomas leaves because he can leave.”
'Switzerland’s greatest living writer'
Stamm is in London for an event at the British Library billed as “An evening with Switzerland’s greatest living writer” – a title he disputes, but accepts with good grace.
He is, arguably, Switzerland’s most interesting living writer. His novels, plays and short stories are sharp, focused psychological studies featuring characters who, either in relationships or alone, flounder in tricky situations and struggle to make sense of their impulses and instincts.
Today, Stamm enjoys not only commercial success, but also critical acclaim – one career highlight was ending up a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize in 2013 – but it took him some time to make his mark.
Born in 1963, he grew up in Weinfelden, 60 kilometres from Zurich, and after leaving school followed in his parents’ footsteps and became an accountant. Eventually, he realised he wanted to do something more creative. Books, he says, were not a means of entertainment, rather “a way of understanding the world.” He went back to university to study psychology “for literary purposes”, lived in various cities abroad, and spent years of trial and error writing “bad” novels that were never published.
First published book at 35
Perseverance paid off. In 1998, Stamm's first novel, Agnes, appeared. "I was 35," he says, "not like Goethe who was in his 20s when [The Sorrows of Young] Werther came out. I still like the book. It's read in schools a lot, but my American publisher didn't want to do it for a long time. It's very dense, very structured. To her, it was more obvious than the other books. She felt you could tell how I worked."
Only Stamm knows how he really works. What he produces are tight, lean books of rare subtlety and great complexity. Like the writers who influenced him – Camus, Hemingway, Chekhov – there is little heart-on-sleeve drama and no lavish descriptions or artful metaphors. Each book is austere, but also astute. As clear as an Alpine stream yet containing hidden, even murky depths. Stamm admits to having experimented with several modes of writing before settling for one so distilled and devoid of narrative clutter.
'I was never a big storyteller'
“My style is more defined by what I couldn’t do rather than what I could do,” he reveals. “There is one story of mine in which a child is dying, but I couldn’t even manage to describe that. I just make my people go away and when they come back, the child has died.”
For him, style is bound up with personality. “I was never a big storyteller. At a party, I’m no good at telling stories. I make them very short,” he says. “I can’t tell a joke, I spoil it by telling it in two sentences and you have to tell it in 20. My way of writing is just the way I speak.”
Before writing, Stamm often begins with a single idea. To the Back of Beyond developed from an image he had of a man walking through the night and through the country. "I had this guy in my mind for a very long time and I always asked myself: why is he doing that? Is he running away from something? Is he a criminal? A refugee? They all seemed too banal to me, too easy. Then a friend of mine gave me Wakefield by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It's a short story, and it's the same story: a guy walks away from his wife for no specific reason and then years later comes back, also for no specific reason."
Stamm doesn’t plot. Instead, he allows a narrative to unfold and take shape from these starting-point questions and ideas.
“I’ve often compared my books to living beings,” he says. “The first sentence is a seed and then it adapts to its surroundings. They don’t grow in an empty space. While I’m writing I try to take in things. I go places, read books, watch movies. Very often things cling to the story.”
Letting the reader decode
Stamm’s books are united by a similar means of composition and the same compelling, stripped-down style. But there is also a third unifying thread running through his work.
“There is the same theme in all my books,” he declares. “It’s about fiction and reality.”
In his novel All Days Are Night, Stamm writes that his artist, Hubert, is driven by "a kind of hunger for reality". The same could be said of his creator. Stamm's characters wrestle with day-to-day reality. Some, like Thomas in To the Back of Beyond, Kathrine in Unformed Landscape, or Andreas in On A Day Like This, have their fill and escape from it. In almost every case, Stamm presents actions and consequences and leaves it to the reader to decode emotions and determine why his characters behave in such a fashion.
Does he feel it isn’t his job to do so?
“I think that’s part of this reality thing,” he answers. “A book becomes much more real when you, the reader, have to create your own images and think about reasons why people behave the way they do. We get spoon-fed all the time by advertisements, by Hollywood movies, and we get fat and lazy. So I think it’s fine to frustrate readers a little bit and make them work for themselves.”
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Staunch Book Prize: a reward for the best thriller that doesn't use women as victims
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Sometimes, we are frustrated because a crucial upshot is withheld from us. In the short story The Result, a man endures an agonising overnight wait for the findings of a medical test. Will he get the all-clear or suffer "a mean and nasty death"? The story ends before the doctor breaks the news.
“The result isn’t important,” says Stamm breezily. “It is to him, but it isn’t to me!”
And yet Stamm does, when pushed, finally offer something about Thomas’ vanishing act.
“I have only one theory,” he offers. “As you get older you know things won’t last. Thomas somehow wants to stop time. By leaving, his kids won’t grow up and leave home, and his wife won’t die. It’s a terrible solution, but the only way to avoid suffering is to be alone.”
Otherwise, explanation is simplification, and we must make do without Stamm rationalising his characters’ decisions. It’s the normal thing in life,” he says. “You see people behave in a specific way and have to explain to yourself why they do that. I don’t know why they do it and very often we ourselves don’t know why we behave in a specific way. But that’s what makes life interesting.”
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Forced%20Deportations
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Violence%20
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
SPECS
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MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Company%20profile
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
THE%20SPECS
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Other simple ideas for sushi rice dishes
Cheat’s nigiri
This is easier to make than sushi rolls. With damp hands, form the cooled rice into small tablet shapes. Place slices of fresh, raw salmon, mackerel or trout (or smoked salmon) lightly touched with wasabi, then press, wasabi side-down, onto the rice. Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Easy omurice
This fusion dish combines Asian fried rice with a western omelette. To make, fry cooked and cooled sushi rice with chopped vegetables such as carrot and onion and lashings of sweet-tangy ketchup, then wrap in a soft egg omelette.
Deconstructed sushi salad platter
This makes a great, fuss-free sharing meal. Arrange sushi rice on a platter or board, then fill the space with all your favourite sushi ingredients (edamame beans, cooked prawns or tuna, tempura veggies, pickled ginger and chilli tofu), with a dressing or dipping sauce on the side.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The biog
Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children
She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career
She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence
Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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Company profile
Company name: Dharma
Date started: 2018
Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: TravelTech
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs
Day 4, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage appeared to have been hard done by when he had his dismissal of Sami Aslam chalked off for a no-ball. Replays suggested he had not overstepped. No matter. Two balls later, the exact same combination – Gamage the bowler and Kusal Mendis at second slip – combined again to send Aslam back.
Stat of the day Haris Sohail took three wickets for one run in the only over he bowled, to end the Sri Lanka second innings in a hurry. That was as many as he had managed in total in his 10-year, 58-match first-class career to date. It was also the first time a bowler had taken three wickets having bowled just one over in an innings in Tests.
The verdict Just 119 more and with five wickets remaining seems like a perfectly attainable target for Pakistan. Factor in the fact the pitch is worn, is turning prodigiously, and that Sri Lanka’s seam bowlers have also been finding the strip to their liking, it is apparent the task is still a tough one. Still, though, thanks to Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed, it is possible.