Als mein Vater starb, war ich 15, sah aus wie Janis Joplin und war gerade in der Schule sitzengeblieben«, erinnert sich Roger Willemsen an den Urknacks seinen eigenen Lebens. »Der Knacks«, das ist der Moment, in dem das Leben die Richtung wechselt und nichts mehr ist wie zuvor. Aber mehr noch als die großen Brüche interessieren Willemsen die fast unmerklichen, namenlosen Veränderungen: die feinen Haarrisse in einer Beziehung, das Altern von Menschen, Städten, Kunstwerken, die Enttäuschung, der Verlust, die Niederlage — die unaufhaltsame Arbeit der Zeit. Ein großer literarischer Essay über die Zeit und das, was sie mit uns macht: Mal autobiographisch erzählend, mal beobachtend und reflektierend schreibt Roger Willemsen sein vielleicht persönlichstes Buch.

«Roger Willemsen meet celebrities — there are memories of «Willemsen's Woche», ZDF show that, in the four years he was allowed to chat with stars, which was usually a total of only moderately exciting. The encounters in Good days are fortunately of a different caliber. Mainly because the interviews are not the focus of the texts, but atmosphere, detail and seeming trivialities. How about Madonna before the interview, the talk with the Paris taxi driver who gets excited that the superstar did not intend to view the Eiffel Tower. Or wait for hours Willemsens observations as he has before him at vorlässt Yasser Arafat. Or travel through the rain forest of Kalimantan, to meet the most famous orangutan researcher. Were some of the texts are already in book form in even a question. Encounters with people and places , however, promises the epilogue, all were revised, «partly extended or renewed completely.» In some texts — and among the best — you have very strong feeling, the encounters with the celebrities are just an excuse for Willemsen anyway to pack their bags to travel further afield and become intoxicated with impressions. For example, if he can drive for days through Tokyo to finally meet fleetingly Hoki Tokuda, the last wife of Henry Miller. One is reminded of Lost in Translation and the scene in the hostess bar is one of the funniest sad throughout the book. If I'm honest: The reason I do not care where Willemsen breaks forth, and from whom he meets. What's fascinating is his style, this well polished and touching speech, in which he translates feelings and observations. How can this man write well, we know from his trip to Germany . Good days provides valuable pieces that are closer to literature than journalism. . You get while reading almost a little afraid that you might have read this book to quickly — Christian Stahl — This text refers to the Hardcover.»