A girl learns the rhythm of the Turkish national anthem on a drum. Years later, her mother stands at the door and pulls her back to Germany by the hand. Years after that, she is left by a man she calls "Nobody," and the longing for Nobody never leaves her. Everything, just not becoming cynical.

In "Mainly No Zeitgeist," the present unfolds before us in exciting 24 hours like a woven carpet. The heroine of the novel is a cosmopolitan and a migrant. She practices affirmation and meditation, self-educates in social philosophy, and rolls her eyes at the dreary tropes of scientists during a conference. She travels to Trieste and meets John, journeys into the past, and discovers herself. She does not want to be modern, yet she is.

Author's Portrait
Hayat Erdogan is a dramaturge, curator, and columnist. She studied German studies, English studies, and dramaturgy, was a research fellow at the James Joyce Foundation in Zurich and Trieste, taught at the Zurich University of the Arts, and led artistic research projects between London and Hong Kong. From 2019 to 2025, she was co-director and dramaturge at the Neumarkt Theater in Zurich. "Mainly No Zeitgeist" is her debut novel.

Further Information
Book (Hardcover), German, 304 pages.