Schuhfabrik bleibt!

In her debut novel, Julia Bassenger describes in a humorous yet serious way what alternative spaces can contribute to society, and what often remains hidden beneath the appearance-preserving surface of patriarchal structures in rural areas. In addition to entertaining experiences from the shoe factory, the book also addresses themes such as domestic violence, sexual assault, prostitution, and alcohol and drug abuse.

Marianne escapes the patriarchy of her Dornkirchen family and finds community in the alternative Viennese cultural center Schuhfabrik. Her drugged-up asshole brother Klaus follows her and really stirs things up—including with Tom, who doesn’t always have himself under control. Tom’s girlfriend Glautsch, who plays with him in the band KOTZFLECK and, like Dösi, is active in the Schuhfabrik, unfortunately feels the consequences all too painfully. Dösi, in turn, plays in a band with Kiwi, lives with his family on a four-sided farm, and likes to bring along his chicken Minerva. Dimitri creates metal art and hides a past that somehow ties into the dark dealings of Marianne’s family back in Dornkirchen. That’s also where young Püppi comes from, who flees its confinement in search of adventure in the big city, and the sex worker Doris, who dreams of a fair-trade brothel. And then there are the Pensipunx, spending their twilight years in the Schuhfabrik; Peter Fanta, who lives in a world of his own; and, of course, the blue rat Lenin.

Julia Bassenger. Born in 1971 in Radstadt, she spent her childhood in Vienna, Chile, Saarbrücken, and Feldkirch. Since 1990, she has lived in Vienna, studied English, American Studies, and Bohemian Studies, was DJ Lady M for a while, and creates strange music as The Bassenger, among other things. Schuhfabrik bleibt! is her debut novel.
bassenger.klingt.org

Julia Bassenger, Schuhfabrik bleibt! [Shoe factory remains]
300 pages, hardcover, ISBN 978-3-9505679-0-8
Vienna: Glitzer & Grind, 2025
www.glitzerundgrind.at