''Mars'' is an autobiographical book by

Fritz Angst ''Mars'' is an autobiographical book by Fritz Angst (1944–1976) under the pseudonym Fritz Zorn. It was first published in 1977. Adolf Muschg wrote its long and engaged foreword. The book was reviewed in the book review section of ''The New Yo ...

(1944–1976) under the pseudonym Fritz Zorn. It was first published in 1977. Adolf Muschg wrote its long and engaged foreword. The book was reviewed in the book review section of '' The New York Times'', which says that the author's pseudonym of "Fritz Zorn" literally means "Angry Fritz". In the book, written after the author was diagnosed with cancer, Zorn describes and criticizes his environment, entourage, and upbringing in one of the wealthiest lakeshore neighborhoods of Zurich,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where he says he was "educated to death". Zorn laments his "unlived life": though he apparently became successful in the eyes of the bourgeoisie (he attended university and became a teacher), his whole life was "wrong". He suffered from depression and never had friends or a girlfriend. The book saw significant success in Europe in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but was not well received in the late 1980s nor in English translation. ''The New York Times'' reviewed it harshly, saying the author's experience with cancer did "not confer acuity or wisdom – only pain, suffering and despair". The review wonders why the book was published at all, referring to it as "whining" and saying it "continues for 143 pages of almost sadistic tedium". The author believed that cancer was

psychosomatic A somatic symptom disorder, formerly known as a somatoform disorder,(2013) Alex Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...

and

Daniel Varenne Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...

developed a comic book based on the book in 1988, and

Darius Peyamiras Darius may refer to: Persian royalty ;Kings of the Achaemenid Empire * Darius I (the Great, 550 to 487 BC) * Darius II (423 to 404 BC) * Darius III (Codomannus, 380 to 330 BC) ;Crown princes * Darius (son of Xerxes I), crown prince of Persia, ma ...

wrote and directed a play drawn from it in 2001.

References

1976 non-fiction books Swiss autobiographies {{lit-bio-book-stub

Further reading

References