Literature "The material chooses the author": Thomas Hürlimann turns 75
In his works, Thomas Hürlimann has repeatedly dealt with his family history and the arch-Catholic milieu of his youth. On December 21, the Swiss author, who was recently on the brink of death, turns 75.
19.12.2025, 09:31
SDA
"The author can't choose his subject matter, the subject matter chooses the author, it's like dreaming," Thomas Hürlimann once said when he was asked about the fact that he was always causing offense with his books. He has also repeatedly made headlines outside the literary world, whether as a conservative intellectual and vehement critic of the EU or as a malicious chronicler of his family history.
This was the case, for example, with his 2001 novella "Fräulein Stark", in which he describes the everyday life of a 13-year-old boy in the Abbey Library of St. Gallen. This led to harsh protests from relatives - above all his uncle - who recognized themselves. In addition, the literary pope Marcel Reich-Ranicki accused him of being casual about anti-Semitism.
He had already caused a scandal three years earlier with his novel "Der grosse Kater", a highly critical examination of a politician's life. The Swiss President described in the novel showed unmistakable parallels with his father, the CVP Federal Councillor Hans Hürlimann.
Reckoning with Catholicism
Catholicism, which Hürlimann himself had to live through as a monastery student in Einsiedeln, also runs like a red thread through the work. Right up to his last novel "Der rote Diamant" (The Red Diamond), published in 2022, in which he recounts this phase of his life.
Thomas Hürlimann was born in Zug on December 21, 1950. After interrupting his studies in philosophy, he moved to Berlin in 1974, where he lived for many years before finally returning to Switzerland. Today he lives again in the canton of Zug, more precisely in Walchwil.
In 1981, he made his award-winning debut as an author with the short story collection "Die Tessinerin". In it, he described autobiographical encounters with death and transience - in particular the death of his brother from cancer. It was a fate that would almost befall Thomas Hürlimann himself years later: Twice, cancer brought him to the brink of death.
In addition to his prose works, Hürlimann, who had worked as a dramaturge in Berlin, also wrote several plays, including for the "Welttheater" in Einsiedeln and for the Chärnerhus amateur theater group in the same town.
Hürlimann has received numerous awards for his literary work. The Faculty of Theology at the University of Basel awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2016.
To mark his 75th birthday, S. Fischer-Verlag published a literary journey through Thomas Hürlimann's work entitled "Der Wanderer und sein Koffer", edited by his life partner Fedora Wesseler.
