Dagny Gioulami

Alle Geschichten, die ich kenne

«The independent oil company petrol station on the approach road to the bypass. The tattooed policeman gives his car key to the attendant. ‹Interior and exterior cleaning, ten euros.›»

The young woman, who recently took over the dry-cleaners shop across the street, is soon to get married – and in Constantinople. The beautiful green taffeta dress, which she will wear for the occasion, is in a poor state. The narrator gets hold of some green taffeta and happens to know just who can make a copy of the wedding dress for her: her Aunt Irini, who lives in Greece.
So she sets off for Greece, accompanied by a «tattooed policeman», who is a «colleague». The two of them travel to meet the storyteller’s relatives, aunts and uncles, and get involved in countless minor but often rather shady incidents. All the Stories I Knowrevolves around a wonderful expedition into the undergrowth of family history. When the two travellers eventually arrive at Aunt Irini’s, she wants nothing to do with making the dress. She’s too old, her husband is ill, and in any case they’re none of them young any more, these aunts and uncles. At the same time, they’re full of absurd stories, and are forever coming up with new ones. Dagny Gioulami is a great storyteller, with a keen eye for an anecdote, who at just the right moment eschews an obvious punch line, never shines a bright light but prefers a gentle glow: quiet slapstick with verbal wit. Above all, she has a practised ear for droll dialogue.
Of course, the narrator has to sew the dress herself. And when she goes to deliver it – with the tattooed policeman – everything turns out to be quite different.

Recommended for translation by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia: www.12swissbooks.ch

Translation of title: All the stories I know

Weissbooks, Frankfurt / M. 2015

ISBN: 978-3-86337-073-2