Schluckspecht is a novel about the love of alcohol, the buzz, addiction, boozing – written by someone familiar with these things to the point of self-destruction.
It began with Aunt Luci’s cheerful “Egészségedre!” (“Cheers!”) with pálinka, and continued with the sniffing of the Rumtopf. Then came the eggnog, the homemade “Schwarze Johanna” liquor, cheerful rounds of drinks with friends, dares, competitions, the insecurities of adolescence, beer, wine, a wild life in the name of art, women, partying, problems, washouts, brandy, cut brandy, schnapps. The weltschmerz of a hero cast out by his parents and his attempt to forget it lead to an journey deep into the abyss of excess.
On his way down, he meets fellow drinking buddies, barflies, boozers and other damned characters. But, like the author Peter Wawerzinek himself, his fictional protagonist also manages, almost miraculously, to pull himself up out of the morass of alcohol by his own bootstraps.
Despite its bottomless horrors, Peter Wawerzinek has written a book free of self-pity. Schluckspecht is a unique combination of explosive joie de vivre, desperation, humor, pain, poetry, deep love of humanity, and worldly wisdom drawn from the reservoirs of adventurous personal experience.
“Peter Wawerzinek’s prose is great literature! ... wrested from his own life experiences through a painful process ... a gift for the reader.” – Meike Fessmann
