Heaven Has No Favorites
Encyclopedia
Heaven Has No Favorites is a novel
by the German
writer Erich Maria Remarque
. This novel is a story about passion and love with a background of automobile racing.
The novel was serialized in the Hamburg magazine Kristall in 1959 under the title Borrowed Life , and first published in book form in 1961.
hospital to visit a fellow racer, Holman. There he meets the young Belgian
woman Lillian suffering from tuberculosis
. She is in its terminal stage with no chances to cure, and she wants to enjoy her last months rather than waiting for her death. Therefore, after a few days in Switzerland she decides to leave the Bela Vista sanatorium with Clerfayt.
Together they travel over Europe, while Lillian enjoyed things she did not know before. Eventually they fall in love and Clerfayt starts to hope for a future with her. However, when he expresses his wish to settle down and wants to get her visited by a doctor, she starts feeling trapped and refuses the idea. Although she loves him, she decides to leave him before they start an actual life together.
In one race Clerfayt is seriously injured and dies in the hospital. Lillian, devastated, returns to Switzerland
. On her way there she encounters Holman, now healed, who has been offered the former job of Clerfayt. Six weeks later, Lillian dies. It is described as a peaceful moment, as if even the landscape had stopped breathing.
, a 1977 film based on the novel, starred Al Pacino
as automobile racer Bobby Deerfield and Marthe Keller
as Lillian Morelli.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
writer Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque was a German author, best known for his novel All Quiet on the Western Front.-Life and work:...
. This novel is a story about passion and love with a background of automobile racing.
The novel was serialized in the Hamburg magazine Kristall in 1959 under the title Borrowed Life , and first published in book form in 1961.
Plot summary
The main figure, Clerfayt, is an automobile racer who goes to a SwissSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
hospital to visit a fellow racer, Holman. There he meets the young Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
woman Lillian suffering from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. She is in its terminal stage with no chances to cure, and she wants to enjoy her last months rather than waiting for her death. Therefore, after a few days in Switzerland she decides to leave the Bela Vista sanatorium with Clerfayt.
Together they travel over Europe, while Lillian enjoyed things she did not know before. Eventually they fall in love and Clerfayt starts to hope for a future with her. However, when he expresses his wish to settle down and wants to get her visited by a doctor, she starts feeling trapped and refuses the idea. Although she loves him, she decides to leave him before they start an actual life together.
In one race Clerfayt is seriously injured and dies in the hospital. Lillian, devastated, returns to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. On her way there she encounters Holman, now healed, who has been offered the former job of Clerfayt. Six weeks later, Lillian dies. It is described as a peaceful moment, as if even the landscape had stopped breathing.
Film adaptation
Bobby DeerfieldBobby Deerfield
Bobby Deerfield is a 1977 film based on the novel Heaven Has No Favorites by Erich Maria Remarque, and stars Al Pacino as the title character...
, a 1977 film based on the novel, starred Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
as automobile racer Bobby Deerfield and Marthe Keller
Marthe Keller
Marthe Keller is a Swiss actress and opera director. She studied ballet as a child, but stopped after a skiing accident at age 16...
as Lillian Morelli.