A Treat for the Ears.

The tale of an extraordinary friendship in a new audio book by Heidelberg-based author Juliane Sophie Kayser and actress Julika Jenkins.

Successful Heidelberg-based author Juliane Sophie Kayser never fails to create an unforgettable experience for the eyes and ears. Now, in collaboration with the well-known actress Julika Jenkins and the outstanding pianist Zhana Minasyan, she is releasing her latest literary hit in English: the audio book How I Met Your Grandfather or Why It Makes Sense to Wear High Heels. The German version of the audio book has been out since September 11, 2017 and is readily available in retail stores as a download.

The audio book tells the true story of an extraordinary friendship between the author, Juliane Sophie Kayser, and Fred Raymes, who became famous through the autobiographical film, Menachem and Fred. Their inspiring story touches the heart and moves us to think about the important things in life. While the story addresses profound questions, such as whether God died in Auschwitz or still exists, it is also suffused with warmth and humor. Both regionally imbedded and transcending national borders, the story brings together the lives of two people in a conversation that never ends. It all starts when Juliane Sophie Kayser meets Fred at a film screening of Menachem & Fred in Heidelberg. In 1940, Fred was deported with his parents and younger brother Heinz to the Gurs concentration camp and was separated from his family shortly afterwards. 60 years later, he was reunited with his brother Menachem. Fred’s touching documentary film approaches the fate of these two Jewish brothers with sensitivity and shows how they found their way back to each other.

"Fred taught me many things, especially to look where it hurts," notes the author Juliane Sophie Kayser. "The time we spent together was very intense. This audio book brings together everything that was important to us: dialogue, music, literature, history, and friendship."

Knowing that this sensitive project required especially talented artists, Kayser engaged the worldwide performing concert pianist Zhana Minasyan to musically accompany the story. The two levels - literature and music - interweave to form a tapestry of associative spaces, enabling listeners to enjoy a harmonious work of art that exceeds the sum of its parts. Juliane Sophie Kayser also brought on board the well-known actress Julika Jenkins, who reads the second story included in the audio book, The Scent of Shadowy Waters. Set in New York City in the late 1960s, this historically-based tale also has a child of the Holocaust as its protagonist; this aspect is what connects Kayser’s two stories.

The result is not only a sensual ode to friendship and a delight for the ears that makes literary and musical hearts beat faster, but also a piece of (contemporary) history that has come to life.

The audio book How I Met Your Grandfather. Or Why It Makes Sense to Wear High Heels is a moving story about the magic of friendship, about reconciliation and coming to terms with the past, and about the love of God.

Music: F. Mompou (1893–1987) Impresiones intimas; C. Debussy (1862–1918) Arabesque; F. Chopin (1810–1849) Nocturne Op. 27 No. 1.