According to his close circle of family and friends, Peter Bichsel “passed away peacefully” on Saturday. He would have celebrated his 90th birthday on March 24.
Bichsel has been celebrated as a master storyteller for around 60 years. He rose to fame with his collection of short stories Aand Really Frau Blum Would Like to Meet the Milkman. This immediately garnered him considerable recognition, even abroad.
Marcel Reich-Ranitzki, the leading literary critic, conferred literary accolades on him with a rave review. Since then, he has received several awards, including the Grand Schiller Prize and the Solothurn Literature Prize.
Bichsel was born in Lucerne in 1935, grew up in Olten and attended teacher training college in Solothurn. He has also spent most of his life there.
On Saturday, he “passed away peacefully” in a nursing home in Zuchwil. His friends confirmed to the Keystone-SDA news agency that he would have liked to have celebrated his milestone birthday.
Not least because a project dedicated to the author was to be inaugurated on this date: the Bichsel Office, which will also include a mobile museum. This will bring Bichsel’s themes to the public and keep them alive beyond his death.
More
More
The discreet charm of antiquarian booksellers
This content was published on
Despite the demise of many Swiss antique bookshops in recent years, the trade is alive and well in Geneva, Basel and Zurich.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Living longer: What do you think about the longevity trend?
The longevity market is booming thanks in part to advances in the science of ageing. What do you think of the idea of significantly extending human lifespan?
This content was published on
On Saturday the Lake Geneva, Valais and Basel regions are expected to record the first tropical day of the year, with temperatures exceeding 30°C.
This content was published on
The Swiss economy saw the clouds that had gathered over its prospects lift somewhat in May. However, the KOF economic barometer is still below its long-term average.
Direct operations too dangerous in Swiss landslide valley
This content was published on
By Friday morning 365 people had been forced to leave their homes because of Wednesday's landslide in the Swiss village of Blatten.
Franco-Swiss raclette war set to be settled on Sunday
This content was published on
The battle for the world's largest raclette will be transformed on Sunday in Saint-Gingolph, canton Valais, into a raclette of friendship served at the border.
Flood risk threatens Swiss valley after ‘millennium event’ glacier collapse
This content was published on
Two days after a gigantic avalanche of ice, mud and debris buried much of the village of Blatten in canton Valais, the danger is not over.
Situation in Swiss landslide valley remains unstable
This content was published on
Authorities in Valais said on Thursday that it was still too dangerous to begin clear-up activities around the village of Blatten.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.