Björn Vrooman Jul 12, 2017:

Side note @janejira Don't take this the wrong way, but judging from the context you gave, I am not sure how much you've understood of the paragraph you're inquiring about.

Thanks to orla, I may be able to explain it to you:

It's about some manager of a library running across the street to ask the author whether he's still in touch with XY and if he could help get XY to come to the library for a reading. Note: She's asking one author to get another one booked because, apparently, the former's not "good enough" in her mind--she even asks him why he doesn't write like the other!

This is where the paragraph begins. The author is trying to find a reason for why the manager just posed that question (I don't think he likes the other guy at all). He thinks it may have something to do with all those reviews the manager must have read (indirect speech, BTW: "So der Kritiker" = "according to the critics," do NOT use the singular here; that's a German thing for generalizations).

However, these critics aren't actually paying much attention to the book(s), but will just "gush over" XY because of his fascinating background story and that's what they'll write about ("Erzählung für sich").

Best

Björn Vrooman Jul 12, 2017:

RE: fulminate/fulminant Only the meaning in the medical field is the same; I don't see how you could use the English verb to convey the German idea of "großartig/brilliant" in this context. It will sound way too negative, even in works of literature.

Cf http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=fulminate&allowed_in_fr...

Usage notes at Oxford and M-W:
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/fulminate
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fulminate

In German:
http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/fulminant

There's a word that sounds similar to this one: culminate/kulminieren.

This word does have the exact same meaning in both languages:
http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/kulminieren
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/culminate

One synonym of "fulminant" is "brilliant," as found directly or indirectly (meteoric) in two of the answers.

Ramey Rieger (X) Jul 12, 2017:

Good morning Janejira To answer your question, the chronicle itself was not the main point, rather the author's experience (emotional, perhaps?) gave the telling it's power.
At least that's how I read it. Good luck!

Detva Jul 11, 2017:

I would prefer lancastershirman's sentence structure as I also feel that the "Erzählung" part is essential. But how about Michael's "presence" as a substitute for "life" or "sight". (Otherwise I would prefer "sight" over "life").