Das rasende Leben: Zwei Novellen by Kasimir Edschmid

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Das rasende Leben: Zwei Novellen by Kasimir Edschmid

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By Larry Peterson Posted on Feb 5, 2026

In Category - Art History

Authors: Edschmid, Kasimir, 1890-1966 Published By : Edschmid, Kasimir, 1890-1966

Book Language: German

Hey, have you ever read something that feels like it's vibrating? That's 'Das rasende Leben' for you. It's this intense little German book from 1915, right when the world was about to go completely mad. It's not one story, but two explosive novellas that capture that feeling of standing on a cliff edge. The first, 'The Six Mouths,' is about a man who inherits a fortune and decides to just... burn through it all in a single, insane year of pure sensation. No saving, no planning, just living at maximum speed until the money's gone. The second, 'The Sportive Girl,' is about a woman who throws herself into the new, physical world of sports and freedom, but at a brutal cost. It's less about plot twists and more about that electric, dangerous feeling of trying to outrun your own life. If you like stories that feel urgent and a bit unhinged, where the real enemy is boredom and the real goal is to feel absolutely everything before the clock runs out, you need to check this out. It's a shot of pure adrenaline from another century.

File: Das rasende Leben: Zwei Novellen by Kasimir Edschmid

Let's set the scene: it's 1915. Europe is tearing itself apart in the First World War, but in the years just before, there was this wild artistic movement in Germany called Expressionism. Think of it as art turned up to eleven—all jagged edges, screaming colors, and raw emotion. Kasimir Edschmid's 'Das rasende Leben' (The Rushing Life) is like the literary version of that. It doesn't just tell a story; it tries to make you feel the frenzy.

The Story

The book is two separate novellas, linked by that feverish energy. In 'The Six Mouths,' a young man gets a huge inheritance. Instead of investing it, he makes a crazy pact with five friends: they will spend every last mark in one glorious, wasteful year. They chase every pleasure, travel everywhere, and live with a kind of desperate joy, watching the fortune vanish. The 'sportive girl' in the second story is similar. She's a modern woman obsessed with physical achievement—sports, dance, pushing her body to the limit. Her life becomes a series of intense, almost violent, physical experiences, a rebellion against a quiet, ordinary existence. Both stories are about characters trying to break out of life's cage by moving too fast to think.

Why You Should Read It

Here's what got me: it's terrifyingly relatable. We might not burn a fortune, but haven't we all felt that itch? The desire to quit the job, book the flight, and just go, to feel something real before it's too late? Edschmid captures that modern anxiety perfectly, but he also shows the dark side. This isn't a happy-go-lucky adventure. The rush leaves his characters empty, isolated, and sometimes broken. It's a portrait of what happens when the pursuit of experience becomes an addiction. Reading it feels like looking into a funhouse mirror at our own 'live for the moment' culture.

Final Verdict

This is a book for a specific mood. It's perfect for anyone who loves historical fiction that feels shockingly modern, or for readers who enjoy intense, character-driven stories where the psychology is the real plot. If you're fascinated by the years just before WWI, or if you've ever wondered about the roots of our own fast-paced, experience-obsessed world, Edschmid offers a brilliant, unsettling answer. It's a short, potent read that sticks with you—a glimpse into the frantic heartbeat of a world on the brink.

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