Figures of Arbitrariness: Autobiography of a Book

  • What is a book and how does it come into being? Roger Willemsen lets us experience it
  • With an afterword by Insa Wilke


"I'm glad I wrote this book. It often errs, it's somewhat crazy. I like it very much." Roger Willemsen

In 1986, Roger Willemsen is living in London, sits down at his kitchen table and begins an experiment: he starts writing and allows us to partake in every moment of it. And so we become breathless witnesses as random observations, thoughts and memories – the ‘figures of arbitrariness’ – form into a book that tells its own story. What writing truly means is not described here. It is lived and made tangible.

Figures of Arbitrariness is a radical linguistic experiment that thinks through the end of literature's endangerment and self-dissolution, ultimately deciding in its favour: it is a book I recommend to anyone who wants to rise above the lowlands of everyday language.
Nicola Bardola

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  • Publisher: FISCHER Taschenbuch
  • Release: 19.11.2025
  • ISBN: 978-3-596-70732-4
  • 576 Pages
  • Author: Roger Willemsen
Buchcover von Figures of Arbitrariness: Autobiography of a Book: Autobiographie eines Buches
Roger Willemsen Figures of Arbitrariness: Autobiography of a Book
Portrait von Roger Willemsen
© Anita Affentranger
Roger Willemsen

Roger Willemsen  (1955 – 2016) started out as a university lecturer, translator and London-based newspaper correspondent, before working as a television presenter, director and producer from 1991 onwards. He won numerous awards, among them the Adolf Grimme Gold Prize and the Prix Pantheon. Willemsen was honorary professor of literature at Berlin’s Humboldt University. His best-selling books  Deutschlandreise  (German Journey),  Gute Tage  (Good Days),  Afghanische Reise  (Afghan Journey),  Kleine Lichter  (Small Lights),  Der Knacks  (The Crack),  Bangkok Noir ,  Die Enden der Welt  (The Ends of the World),  Momentum , and  Das Hohe Haus  (The High House) have been translated into many languages. A book, entitled  Der leidenschaftliche Zeitgenosse  (A Passionate Contemporary) and edited by Insa Wilke, discusses his wide-ranging work.