Tilli Breidenbach

A year on an Alpine farm: an older couple have two children, Belli, who wanted to be a teacher, and the younger Franzi, deaf, and although he works like a man, child-like. Belli teaches him. In his work, he can become frustrated, so when he throws an expensive mower over a cliff in a fit of pique, his father banishes him to the outskirts of the farm, where he uses pubescent energy to break rocks and build walls and cairns. (It's the tradition of the father's family, called "The Irascibles" by neighbors, to spend puberty doing this.) Belli visits him and they begin sleeping together. By winter, the boy is back in the house and Belli is pregnant. Soon her parents must know.

After arriving in 1940 New York, Freddy struggles to find work. His world of refugee acquaintances includes the depressed daughter of a poet/delicatessen owner, an aging surgeon who cannot find work, and a lovable charlatan photographer.

At the beginning of the 16th century, the Christian Martin Luther followed his calling and became an Augustinian monk in Erfurt. However, his life in the monastery confronted him with his fears of a judging God. These were finally taken away from him through the study of his religion, which emphasized a merciful Creator. As a theologian in Wittenberg, he then went public with his 95 theses, which criticized the church's practice of forgiving sins in exchange for money. A momentous dispute began.

A young, easygoing pilot discovers the mutual attraction between his chief pilot's wife and himself. The two become lovers, and are nearly discovered on several occasions. However, when the wife becomes pregnant, her husband has reason to believe he is not the father and, indeed, that the culprit is the young pilot. He arranges for the young man to have an unfortunate accident, and all proceeds as if nothing had happened.

Zündschnüre explores the emotional and psychological aftermath of war. The story follows two former soldiers who return home after serving in a brutal conflict. They find themselves struggling to reintegrate into civilian life, grappling with trauma, guilt, and their difficult pasts. As they attempt to reconnect with their families and rebuild their lives, the haunting effects of war continue to haunt them, testing their resilience and relationships. Fuses is a poignant and intense exploration of human suffering, healing, and the lingering scars of violence.