Gernot Rainer: People Act Out of Conviction, Not Malice
In an interview with Die Presse, author and physician Gernot Rainer discusses his debut novel, 'Fracture Lines,' which explores family dynamics and societal tensions during the pandemic. Rainer explains that he avoided writing a mere chronicle of the crisis, instead focusing on how individuals develop conflicting views of the same reality. He emphasizes that his characters are not direct portraits of real people but condensations of observations from his medical practice and daily life. A central theme of the work is the idea that people rarely act out of malice, but rather out of deep-seated conviction, making them coherent within their own logic even when objectively wrong. Rainer describes writing as a precise form of thinking aimed at understanding complex human behaviors rather than simply venting emotions. The novel examines how beliefs arise and why they persist even when they cause division, highlighting the struggles of teachers, parents, and young people navigating uncertainty. Through equal treatment of all protagonists, Rainer aims to reveal the contradictions and fault lines in modern relationships without favoring any single perspective.
Wire timeline
Gernot Rainer: People Act Out of Conviction, Not Malice
In an interview with Die Presse, author and physician Gernot Rainer discusses his debut novel, 'Fracture Lines,' which explores family dynamics and societal tensions during the pandemic. Rainer explains that he avoided writing a mere chronicle of the crisis, instead focusing on how individuals develop conflicting views of the same reality. He emphasizes that his characters are not direct portraits of real people but condensations of observations from his medical practice and daily life. A central theme of the work is the idea that people rarely act out of malice, but rather out of deep-seated conviction, making them coherent within their own logic even when objectively wrong. Rainer describes writing as a precise form of thinking aimed at understanding complex human behaviors rather than simply venting emotions. The novel examines how beliefs arise and why they persist even when they cause division, highlighting the struggles of teachers, parents, and young people navigating uncertainty. Through equal treatment of all protagonists, Rainer aims to reveal the contradictions and fault lines in modern relationships without favoring any single perspective.
DiePresse.com - Home