Nichts. Was im Leben wichtig ist

Geschrieben von Janne Teller

Erzählt von Laura Maire

"Nichts bedeutet irgendetwas, das weiß ich seit Langem. Deshalb lohnt es sich nicht, irgendetwas zu tun. Das habe ich gerade herausgefunden."
Auf das Leben folgt der Tod. Auf die Bedeutung das Vergessen. Auf den Anfang das Ende. Als Pierre Anthon das erkennt, steigt er auf einem Pflaumenbaum und verbringt dort seine Tage. Gerda, Elise, Jan-Johan und all die anderen Kinder in der Stadt finden Pierre Anthon Verhalten nicht nur provozierend, es macht ihnen auch Angst - schließlich liegt die Zukunft verheißungsvoll vor ihnen. In einer verlassenen Sägemühle beginnen sie Dinge zusammenzutragen, die ihnen etwas bedeuten. Doch die Aktion, die beweisen soll, dass sich Pierre Anthon irrt, läuft bald aus dem Ruder ... Ausgezeichnet mit dem Deutschen Hörbuchpreis 2011 in der Kategorie »Beste Interpretin«

• Sprache: Deutsch
• Herausgeber: Silberfisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 24. Aug. 2010
• ISBN: 9783844901542

Rezensionen für Nichts. Was im Leben wichtig ist

[mboszko · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Whelp. That was … very Danish. Fuckin’ yikes. But also quite good!

[robertalea-223265 · Bewertung: 1 von 5 Sternen]

No. No. No. NO. I don't care how many other people rave about it and I don't care if it won any awards it is one of the worse books I've ever read. Now I read serial killer/homicide detective books on a regular basis. I even read that grisly "Man from the Train". But this book doesn't set well with me. The characters in this book are middle school age. It was a quick read, small size, large margins. The young lady telling the story is Agnes; and her irreverence to the horrors being carried out by her and her classmates I found shocking. I got through the thefts these young people committed, the bullying, the desecration of a cemetery, the desecration of a church, the domestic violence incident, the rape, but I couldn't continue when they started talking about decapitating a dog. Couldn't read that. I skipped to the last couple of pages ( I think I missed other horrors, but I don't want to know about them). I read about the murder they committed and the act of arson to cover it up. It was a deeply disturbing book. NOT for middle schoolers. I don't usually discard a book in this nice of condition. But this is book, translated from Danish, and somewhat of a take from Lord of Flies, is going right into the recycling bin. UGH.

[mjspear_1 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

A parable of a young teen who decides "nothing" matters so climbs a tree and sits. His increasingly-concerned classmates try various ways to nudge him out of his inertia. It is a bleak parable that, in this reader's opinion, suffered in its translation from the Danish.

[rosa.mill · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

This is my final Printz Honor book of this years winners. I had a feeling that this book was not going to be for me so I will fully admit that I definitely procrastinated on it.

On the first day of school Pierre Anthon tells his fellow class mates that life is meaningless and leaves school. He spends his days sitting in a plum tree mocking his former class mates. His classmates can't take it and decide to make a heap of meaning to get him down. However who decides what really has meaning? The choices get darker and darker and things take a turn for the ugly as choices become motivated by revenge as much as meaning.

I can absolutely see where this is a well written and important book but good lord was it not for me. The anger and pain that was being passed around just got to me after a while. I will admit that all of this books comparison's to Lord of the Flies has guilted me into adding that to my every growing insane TBR pile.

[leandra53 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Pierre, Schüler einer achten Klasse, schockiert seine Mitschüler mit seinem Entschluss, ab sofort nicht mehr zur Schule zu gehen, weil "nichts im Leben eine Bedeutung hat". Tag für Tag sitzt er in einem Baum und verhöhnt seine Klassenkameraden, wenn sie auf ihrem Schulweg an ihm vorbeikommen. Um ihm zu beweisen, dass er im Unrecht ist, beschließen sie, gemeinsam für Pierre einen "Berg der Bedeutung" anlegen, zu dem jeder von ihnen das beisteuert, was ihm am wichtigsten ist. Aber die Gaben für diesen Berg werden immer intimer und absurder, und die Situation eskaliert...Eine hervorragend erzählte Geschichte über das erwachsen Werden und die Suche nach dem Sinn des Lebens, deren Sog man sich nicht entziehen kann. Keinesfalls nur für Jugendliche geeignet.

[kradish-1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

A depressing novel about an existential crisis gone far out of control. What will people, even children, not do to avoid the abyss of meaninglessness? According to this book, nothing is sacred when matched against the awesome power of nothingness.

[lbblackwell · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

A group of young teens attempts to prove that there are things in life that matter by creating a pile of meaning. Each member of the group is required to add an item of importance to the pile as requested by another group member. The novel quickly takes a dark turn as the requests become more and more extreme.I would not recommend this book, especially for the average pre-teen/teen - maybe for the gifted population as it deals with some heavy issues. The book was very disturbing!

[jcarroll12 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

A challenging read that explores difficult issues that must be addressed with teenagers - the power of peer pressure, the danger of revenge, the easy accessibility of violence, and the existential question of the meaning of life. The content and structure make this a book appropriate for gifted readers. I led a discussion on it with adults, and although many did not particularly enjoy the novel, we explored many important aspects. I would be very interested to see a high school student's reaction to the novel; I do think a mature and highly intelligent audience would be the most appropriate.

[kbernard-1 · Bewertung: 1 von 5 Sternen]

After discussing this book with my classmates, I can appreciate other opinions about the book. I personally wasn't a fan of this book. It was very disturbing and I couldn't get past some of the things I read.

[kmclark-1 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

I am really not quite sure what to say about Nothing; I am so torn how I actually feel about it. I really struggled getting into the story throughout the first few chapters, but as the story progressed I was so sickened and horrified, yet intrigued and captivated that I couldn't put the book down. I read it in a little under two hours because I just had to know how it ended. this very dark book definitely deals with questions young adults struggle with, "What really matters?". In a world where more and more teens are committing suicide, I was a little concerned about how someone with depressing thoughts would feel while reading this book and/or relating to characters such as Sofie, whose innocence was taken from her in a way like none of the others. I would definitely recommend to others, but I can not say that I would personally be able to read this book again.

[desirichter · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

1 star for having the most mismatched cover to content relationship ever.I can't say that I ENJOYED the bleak landscape of this work. However, Nothing asks questions of a younger audience that need to be addressed, and evokes discussions about philosophical modes of thought of which the younger generation needs to be aware.I would absolutely give this to a thoughtful reader who is capable of reading beyond the violence and ask the important questions that this text begs.

[supendleton · Bewertung: 1 von 5 Sternen]

I had to force myself to finish this novel.

[abrial2433 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

VOYA Ratings: 5Q, 4PHow do you respond to someone that tells you that life has no meaning? How do you convince someone of what is important in life when they stubbornly refuse to see any importance in life itself? These are the questions the classmates of Pierre Anthon ask themselves as they try to lure him down from the branches of a tree in which he has decided to take up residency after leaving school and professing that the is no point to anything. Quickly they strike upon an idea where the students must take it in turns to give up something important, something of great personal value that will demonstrate that life does indeed have meaning. However, their plan quickly grows dark and grisly in nature as each one is asked to give up something more and more personal to "the pile".A deeply philosophical work that asks some of the toughest and most fundamental questions of life as they are first encountered in youth. There is a morbid sense of impending dread that builds with each new sacrifice as offered up by the children and it is clear how shaken and disturbed they are as they begin to question whether Pierre Anthon may be right.

[nigelthekid · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

4Q 2PWhen a young adult named Pierre Anthon declares that life has no meaning and anyone who says otherwise is wrong, a group of his fellow students set out to prove him wrong. To do this, they assemble a collection of all the things that have meaning to them. As the collection grows, however, they have to wonder just how far they'll go to convince Pierre (or themselves) that life really is about more than just nothing.This book is beautifully written and very engaging.The only reason it probably won't be too popular with young adults is that it's very dark and is an in-depth exploration of nihilism versus materialism--thus the story doesn't stand up well on its own. Probably more for the older teen audience than the younger teen audience.

[crystalmiles-1 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

4Q 3P (My VOYA ratings). To say Nothing is dark is an understatement. In true Scandinavian literary form, we are taken to a stark, cold feeling place that ends up being part allegory, fable, and end's with a dash of Lord of the Flies. Seventh grader, Pierre-Anthon, decides there is no point to anything anymore and climbs up a tree deciding to stay there until someone can prove to him that there is reason for living. In there efforts to prove themselves, he watches his classmates destroy themselves. I give this book a 4 for quality, as I do think it is well written, but I didn't REALLY care about the characters. I give a 3 for popularity because I think it might be tough to get teens to read about nihilism.

[millerloo · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

I assigned this novel a VOYA quality rating of four because while it was well-written and compelling, I felt that something was lost in translation. In a novel with such heavy reliance on philosophical content, subtle nuances of the language would have to have been diminished when translated to English. The writing was obviously strong however and I enjoyed the buildup to the surprising climax of the novel. The VOYA popularity rating I assigned this novel was three. While many teens might relate to existential questions and a budding preoccupation with the nature of reality, I think the metaphorical and philosophical content may bore some younger readers. I also feel that some teen readers will find it difficult to follow the story for long enough to get hooked into the very exciting middle and conclusion of this fairly short novel. The audiobook was well done and I appreciated the voice of the narrator.

[miss_bc-1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

4Q, 3PIn this gripping story about Pierre Anthon and his bold statement of "nothing matters" so he goes up into a plum tree and refuses to come down even though his seventh grade classmates throw plums at him to come down. The risks his classmates take to prove to Pierre Anthon that indeed life does have meaning takes readers on one haunting ride. Soon a pile of things that matter are created and each time something is added it is more and more meaningful and harder for the students to give up. Some are even horrifying.A great book for any teen to find a connection to and relate to the story. The level of depth that can be found in this story gives readers a chance for rich discussion.

[thea3ploetz · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

In "Nothing," Janne Teller integrates a compelling plot with the existential questions about how to find and define meaning. In what starts as a quest to convince a classmate and themselves that life is meaningful after all, a group of middle schoolers in Denmark make sacrifices of increasingly disturbing proportions. Readers and characters alike will wonder when and why the sacrifices will finally stop, and what will be lost by the time they do. Teller's insights into motivations of her characters and the simple yet profound writing make this novel and excellent read.3P, 4Q

[madamerazz · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Nothing is a pretty intense book. It is also hard to put down and a fascinating look at the nihilism and the meaning of life. When Pierre Anthon decides that life has no meaning and begins taunting a group of middle school youth on their way to school, they are unsettled and angry by his proclamations. They set out to prove him wrong and the stakes become increasingly higher as they seek to find what does have meaning. The story is unsettling and haunting, but incredibly thought provoking. Nothing will not appeal to everyone, but it will appeal to those youth struggling with life’s larger questions.

[alicen3 · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

The premise of this that faced with the idea that life is meaningless a group of thirteen year old's begin to construct a "heap" of meaning. While this is an interesting concept that is important to be addressed in YA literature there are some fundamental flaws to the novel's construction. However, I will begin with what is most interesting about the novel. In raising the question of what is meaning and what matters the teens are entering into territory that adults have yet to address in their forties. Acknowledging this fact itself speaks to a necessary aspect of growing up that is interesting and unique. As for the flaws, when I was reading this novel I couldn't help but wonder.. where on earth are the adults? How is it that this can be happening for months on end and no adult is aware or intercedes? Much like when I watch some movies geared at tweens I cannot help but wonder where one might find an adult in the scenario. The suspension of disbelief in order to accept this work is profound and ultimately I found myself unable. I simply couldn't accept the work. Not on a a philosophical basis, but simply because I wanted at some point for some adult to glean on. When the adults finally did I was somewhat disgusted by the fame that "meaning" promoted as it had such a high cost.

[aryno-1 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

I didn't care for this book, but that might be because I don't general care for nihilism in general. Like Lord of the Flies, but modern and about depressed nihilistic teens.

[c.davidson · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

5Q 4PLikened by many reviewers to "Lord of the Flies," this book is about a band of Danish kids seeking to create a pile of "meaning" in order to disprove their nihilist classmate's beliefs about the meaning of life. Not trusting each other to truly give up what is most meaningful to them, they start choosing for others what they should give up. The sacrifices escalate, and things take a dark turn.This book was quietly intense. Several times during the reading I felt a little sick because I could see where things were heading and I didn't like it at all. It definitely made me think about a lot of things, mostly about how morality is culturally determined, and how these characters' participation in their own peer culture was so complete that they were willing to violate the morals of the larger Danish culture.

[tvickrey-1 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. While it was written well, it just left me feeling unsettled. Seventh grader Pierre announces one day to his classmates that life with without meaning, and then walks out. Weird right? Well it get's weirder, he confirms that every act is just inching everyone closer to death. This is pretty heavy thinking for a seventh grader. I just never think someone so young is going to find themselves in the midst of an existential crisis. Maybe it was lost in translation for me?

[sushiroll-1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

4Q, 2PHow do we know if life has meaning? Pierre Anthon does and says so as he stands up in class and states that nothing has meaning and leaves. This statement throws his classmates in such distress that they go to extremes to create meaning to prove that it exists.The book is bleak, violent, and very existentialism. It is a difficult read especially because of the the age of the children and their acts. I enjoyed the book but I find it hard to believe that these children can commit such acts and get away with it without the suspicion of the town or parents.

[sbballard · Bewertung: 1 von 5 Sternen]

I really wanted to like this book. I had seen it on the shelves at the public library and pulled it out because the cover and description interested me. However, as the simple dispute over the meaning of life between these school kids becomes a matter of rape, maiming, grave robbery and murder, I found it very difficult to read. I could not understand why these kids were making these terrible decisions and why no adult or mature person was ever consulted or stepped in to stop it (or the kids themselves for that matter). It felt very Lord of the Flies to me. I would not have finished it if it weren't required for the class.

[lilya05 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Pierre Anthon bedeutet, dass in der Welt nichts von Bedeutung sei. Seine Mitschüler wollen dies nicht hinnehmen, sie wollen nicht in einer Welt ohne Bedeutung leben und setzen sich das Ziel, Pierre Anthons These zu widerlegen. Sie werden einen "Berg aus Bedeutung" anhäufen, auf den jedes Mitglied der Klasse etwas legen soll, das für ihn oder sie Bedeutung hat. An Anfang landen auf dem Berg aus Bedeutung noch liebgewonnene Gegenstände, doch bald schon wächst die Bedeutung der Opfer, die die Schüler bringen müssen um Pierre Anthon zu widerlegen. Die bizarren und dramatischen Auswüchse, die der Berg an Bedeutung annimmt, machen das Buch spannend zu lesen. Es regt zum Nachdenken an. Ich kann nachvollziehen, weshalb es in Skandinavien als Schullektüre nicht unumstritten ist, halte es jedoch für eine gute Basis um sich bedeutenden menschlichen Fragen wie der nach dem Sinn des Lebens zu nähern.

[jwarren42 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

The desperation with which the characters fall back and further back to find meaning in the face of a kind of nihilistic scrutiny is compelling. Ultimately, the meaning of the search and defense of meaning occurs in the reader, not on the page. Pierre Anthon is mocking us from that tree just as he mocks his classmates. We're left wondering what would we put on the pile in the futile attempt to prove meaning exists. Normally I would say highly recommended, but this is potent stuff. Approach with caution.

[flydodofly · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Was ist das Leben, und was kann es bedeuten? Wie soll es gelebt werden? Müssen und können wir uns treu bleiben, oder uns anpassen? Wie viel wird von uns erwartet? Was wollen wir erreichen? Warum reden wir nicht mehr darüber? Warum gibt es in jeder Generation immer wieder junge Erwachsene die meinen etwas Neues über das Leben entdeckt zu haben, dies aber mit den Eltern und anderen Erwachsenen nicht besprechen können oder wollen. Das kleine Buch ist so extrem und so klar, es gibt einem aber kein Halt und keine Hilfe, deshalb auch keine Denkrichtung - alles ist möglich in dieser Welt, sogar die schlimmsten Sachen. Wie weit gehen alle? Warum ist das so? Alle diese Fragen sind sehr wichtig, insbesondere in einem Alter wo man sich noch unsterblich fühlt, und fast allmächtig, insbesondere in unserer westlichen Welt. Die sind ernst und wichtig, und wenn man die richtig anpackt, könnten diese zu guten Diskussionen in Schulen führen. Eine Verfilmung würde sicherlich helfen...

[sara_killough_1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

4Q, 2P (My VOYA ratings)I enjoyed Nothing and read it in one sitting, but I was left feeling conflicted about it. Not in that I believe the book is “too dark,” because I enjoyed the exploration of what it would mean to teens to have “meaning” taken away from them, and what lengths they would go to in order to get it back, but in the way that I found it really hard to suspend my disbelief about no adults ever realizing what was happening (or interfering, after they did realize what happened) until it was “too late.”I found also it strange that the teens never really faced any consequences for their actions (concrete ones enacted by the law, I mean—I believe it’s fairly clear at the end that at least Agnes does continue to experience emotional consequences even several years later). I also felt that the book didn’t give the reader a sense of satisfaction or resolution to the issues the teens faced during the book. But, then, maybe that’s the point. Maybe we’re not supposed to feel a clean sense of “resolution” at the end of the book. I did dock the book one point for this feeling of dissatisfaction and for the issue with suspension of disbelief, but I do believe the book is high quality and warrants a 4Q.However, I think this book would be a tough sell to many teenagers. The book is a bit esoteric in concept, and while the plot is fast-paced and exciting I think the dark concept and outcome of the story might put off some readers. The writing is also not the easiest to parse, and reluctant readers might be turned off by that element. Because this book is more of a “niche” read, I rated it 2P on the VOYA scale.

[hepzebahroland · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

VOYA 3Q, 2P This book takes a dark view of human nature. This is Lord of the Flies meets Waiting for Godot. It can certainly be read as a metaphor for the flawed nature of religion as well. Wouldn't read it again.