The Novel in German Since 1990 Edited by Stuart Taberner Frontmatter More Information

Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-19237-8 - The Novel in German Since 1990 Edited by Stuart Taberner Frontmatter More information

THE NOVEL IN GERMAN SINCE 

Diversity is one of the deﬁning characteristics of contemporary German-language literature, not just in terms of the variety of authors writing in German today, but also in relation to theme, form, technique and style. However, common themes emerge: the Nazi past, transnationalism, globalisation, migration, religion and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, and identity. This book presents the novel in German since 1990 through a set of close readings both of international bestsellers (including Daniel Kehlmann’s Measuring the World and W. G. Sebald’s Austerlitz) and of less familiar, but important texts (such as Yadé Kara’s Selam Berlin). Each novel dis- cussed in the volume has been chosen on account of its aesthetic quality, its impact and its representativeness; the authors featured, among them Nobel Prize winners Günter Grass, Elfriede Jelinek and Herta Müller, demonstrate the energy and quality of contemporary writing in German.

st ua rt ta ber ner is Professor of German at the University of Leeds. He has previously edited The Cambridge Companion to Günter Grass (2009) and Contemporary German Fiction: Writing in the Berlin Republic (2007).

THE NOVEL IN GERMAN SINCE 

edited by

STUART TABERNER

cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Tokyo, Mexico City

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First published 2011

Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge

A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data The novel in German since 1990 / [edited by] Stuart Taberner. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-521-19237-8 (hardback) 1. German fiction–20th century–History and criticism. 2. German fiction–21st century– History and criticism. 3. German fiction–Europe, German-speaking–History and criticism. I. Taberner, Stuart. pt772.n66 2011 833.9209–dc22 2011015313

isbn 978-0-521-19237-8 Hardback

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Contents

List of contributors page vii Acknowledgements viii

Introduction: The novel in German since 1990 1 Stuart Taberner 1. Robert Schindel’s Gebürtig (Born-Where) 19 Helmut Schmitz 2. Günter Grass’s Ein weites Feld (Too Far Aﬁeld) 35 Rebecca Braun 3. Thomas Brussig’s Helden wie wir (Heroes Like Us) 50 Anna Saunders 4. Christa Wolf’s Medea. Stimmen (Medea. A Modern Retelling) 64 Georgina Paul 5. Zafer Şenocak’s Gefährliche Verwandtschaft (Perilous Kinship) 79 Moray McGowan 6. Monika Maron’s Endmoränen (End Moraines) 94 Katharina Gerstenberger 7. Martin Walser’s Ein springender Brunnen (A Gushing Fountain) 108 Kathrin Schödel 8. Michael Kleeberg’s Ein Garten im Norden (A Garden in the North) 123 Stephen Brockmann 9. Christian Kracht’s Faserland (Frayed-Land) 136 Julian Preece

vi Contents 10. Elfriede Jelinek’s Gier (Greed) 151 Helen Finch 11. Karen Duve’s Dies ist kein Liebeslied (This Is Not a Love-Song) 165 Alison Lewis 12. Herta Müller’s Herztier (The Land of Green Plums) 180 Lyn Marven 13. W. G. Sebald’s Austerlitz 195 Mary Cosgrove 14. Walter Kempowski’s Alles umsonst (All for Nothing) 211 Karina Berger 15. F. C. Delius’s Mein Jahr als Mörder (My Year as a Murderer) 226 Anne Fuchs 16. Yadé Kara’s Selam Berlin 241 Petra Fachinger 17. Daniel Kehlmann’s Die Vermessung der Welt (Measuring the World) 255 Stuart Taberner 18. Günter Grass’s Beim Häuten der Zwiebel (Peeling the Onion) 270 Monika Shaﬁ

Select bibliography 284 Index 302

Contributors

karina berger, University of Leeds rebecca braun, Lancaster University stephen brockmann, Carnegie Mellon University mary cosgrove, University of Edinburgh petra fachinger, Queen’s University, Canada helen finch, University of Leeds anne fuchs, University of St Andrews katharina gerstenberger, University of Cincinnati alison lewis, University of Melbourne moray mcgowan, Trinity College Dublin lyn marven, University of Liverpool georgina paul, StHilda’s College, Oxford julian preece, University of Wales, Swansea anna saunders, Bangor University helmut schmitz, University of Warwick kathrin schödel, Universität Erlangen monika shafi, University of Delaware stuart taberner, University of Leeds

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Acknowledgements

Without the support of the Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA) and the School of Modern Languages at Leeds, which gener- ously funded a workshop in Leeds in September 2009 at which most of the contributors were present, this book would have been a less coherent and less ambitious enterprise. I am especially grateful, of course, to all the contributors to the volume for their hard work and forbearance with my editing. As always, I am also indebted to my colleagues at Leeds, particularly for their support and enthusiasm. Most of all, of course, I am grateful to my family, and especially to Ali and our son Ivor as we eagerly await our new arrival! This book is dedicated to all three.

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