Prize winning Austrian author Franzobel reads in German from his novel "Das Floß der Medusa" (the Raft of the Medusa).

In July of 1816, the French frigate Medusa en route to the French colony of Senegal ran aground and sank off the coast of modern day Mauritania. Ineptly led and ill-equipped with enough lifeboats for all of the passengers, 147 people were set adrift on a 20 ft. long unnavigable makeshift raft, and left to fend for themselves with minimal supplies. 13 days later the raft was sighted by chance by a frigate called the Argus. What the captain of the Argus discovered would shock and embarrass post-Napoleonic France and the world: the survivors naked with vacant eyes, emaciated bodies, and burned skin – half crazed shells of their former selves and signs of cannibalism, insanity and unimaginable cruelty. Only 15 survived to tell the tale of the raft of the Medusa.

This historical event immortalized by the romantic painter Théodore Géricault’s oversized canvas painting is the backdrop for Franzobel’s novel that explores the dark side of the human will to survive and the limits of civilization and humanity.

Come join the author who will read selections from his work in German and field questions from the audience in English and German.

Sponsored by the Dallas Goethe Center, Deep Vellum Books, and the Austrian Cultural Forum New York