Hey, dude! - Book reading

Info on "Hey, old man!" and author

The young suspect it, the old know it: getting old is not necessarily fun. But it also has its funny sides. The author, himself retired for many years, has an eye for the bizarre moments in the lives of pensioners. In 40 short stories, he pokes fun and irony at the quirks, foibles and miseries of his contemporaries, especially his own, of course, which will probably be familiar to many.

What older people gain in (perceived) wisdom goes hand in hand with losses elsewhere. Retirement has little to do with rest, if only because of the constant visits to the doctor. Some still want to have their say in the armchair, others try to make up for what they have missed out on in the last few meters of their long lives, and almost everyone is susceptible to advice that demands the last thing from them: namely to stay physically and mentally fit, even young!

In short: you need a sense of humor to master this stage of life. In this respect, "Hey, old man!" is a gift for people who already have everything: the right age, a few ailments here and there, problems with digital technology. Gaps in their memory and teeth, but above all: a sense of humor. The Berlin-based Enno-Verlag, which published the book, assures us of this.

Author Jürgen Nowak spent the last 25 years of his working life at the Berlin satirical magazine "Eulenspiegel", which sold 500,000 copies a week in the GDR. In the turmoil of the peaceful revolution, Nowak was appointed editor-in-chief - by his colleagues, who felt empowered to choose their own editorial management in free democratic self-determination. Only later did they realize that democracy was not so much in demand in the workplace.

After all, the "Eulenspiegel" was able to fend off all takeover attempts by large publishing houses. Jürgen Nowak is still editor of the paper today.