Contemporary Migration Literature in German and English <UN> Internationale Forschungen zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft Series Editor Norbert Bachleitner (University of Vienna) Editorial Assistance Paul Ferstl Rudolf Pölzer Founded by Alberto Martino Editorial Board Francis Claudon (Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne University) Rüdiger Görner (Queen Mary, University of London) Achim Hölter (University of Vienna) Klaus Ley (Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz) John A. McCarthy (Vanderbilt University) Alfred Noe (University of Vienna) Manfred Pfister (Free University of Berlin) Sven H. Rossel (University of Vienna) VOLUME 187 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/favl <UN> Contemporary Migration Literature in German and English A Comparative Study By Sandra Vlasta LEIDEN | BOSTON <UN> Cover illustration: Detail of Plate 113 of Birds of America by John James Audubon depicting Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis. 1827-1838. University of Pittsburgh. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Vlasta, Sandra, author. Contemporary migration literature in German and English : a comparative study / by Sandra Vlasta. pages cm -- (Internationale Forschungen zur allgemeinen und vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft ; 187) ISBN 978-90-04-30599-1 (hardback : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-90-04-30600-4 (e-book) 1. Emigration and immigration in literature. 2. German literature--21st century--History and criticism. 3. English literature--21st century--History and criticism. I. Title. II. Series: Internationale Forschungen zur allgemeinen und vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft ; 187. PN56.E59V58 2015 809’.93355--dc23 2015032935 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 0929–6999 isbn 978-90-04-30599-1 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-30600-4 (e-book) Copyright 2016 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill nv incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi and Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill nv provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, ma 01923, usa. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper. <UN> To Antonino ∵ <UN> Contents Acknowledgements IX 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Research on Literature and Migration in the German- and English-Speaking World 7 1.2 Studying Literary Themes and Motifs 41 1.3 The Present Volume: Questions of Terminology, the Gains of a Comparative Approach, and Themes and Motifs to be Analysed 45 1.4 Excursus: The Context – Immigration to Great Britain and Austria 53 2 The Motif of Language in Migration Literature 59 2.1 Neither Here nor There – The Second Generation as Linguistic and Cultural Translators 60 2.2 A Language of Images in Anna Kim’s Die Bilderspur 81 2.3 The Motif of the Tongue in Dimitré Dinev’s Novel Engelszungen 92 3 Identity and the Search for Identity in Migration Literature Expressed by Cooking, Eating, and Food 103 3.1 ‘ Chutneyfication’ in Preethi Nair’s One Hundred Shades of White 109 3.2 Sweet and Sour Identities: Levels of Discourse on Identity in Connection with Cooking and Food in Timothy Mo’s Sour Sweet 123 3.3 Food, Cooking, Eating, and the Expression of Jewish Identity in Vladimir Vertlib’s Novel Letzter Wunsch 139 4 Depictions of the New Homeland 154 4.1 Depictions of England in Caryl Phillips’ Novel The Final Passage 159 4.2 Depictions of the New Homeland in Monica Ali’s Novel Brick Lane 180 4.3 Outside Looking In – The Depiction of Austrian History in Hamid Sadr’s Novel Der Gedächtnissekretär 205 5 Global Ethnoscapes in Migration Literature 223 5.1 Locations 231 5.2 Protagonists 242 5.3 The Shifting of Periphery and Centre and the Topos of the Border 254 <UN> viii Contents 6 Résumé 261 Appendix: Bio-Bibliographical Notes on the Authors 267 Bibliography 273 1 Primary Sources 273 2 Secondary Sources 276 <UN> Acknowledgements Scholarly research is a collective effort and thus this volume is the result of a continuous exchange of dialogue with both other studies and books, as well as with colleagues, teachers, mentors, friends, family, and many others. I would like to thank all of them and use this opportunity to thank some of them in particular. I would like to thank Norbert Bachleitner for being a knowledgeable and kind teacher, mentor, and colleague, and for his continuous support of my work as well as the possibility to publish this study in the Internationale Forschungen zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft (ifavl) series. Many thanks go to Rudolf Weiss for supporting this study at an early stage. I would like to thank colleagues from the research seminars at the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Vienna, the Department of Germanic Studies at Trinity College Dublin, and the Institute for Contemporary and Comparative Literature at the University of St. Andrews for their valuable comments on my work. Thank you to the many, many colleagues who have commented on my work at various conferences and events on the topic of literature and migration. In particular, I would like to thank my colleagues from the project Trans-Culture. Migration and Literature in Contemporary Europe: Cézar Domínguez, Myriam Geiser, Jeanne Glesener, Helga Mitterbauer, Fridrun Rinner, and Franca Sinopoli. Also, a warm thanks to my colleagues of the web portal Polyphonie: Beate Baumann, Michaela Bürger-Koftis, and Hannes Schweiger. And finally, I would like to thank Renata Cornejo for all the successful projects we have undertaken together. Furthermore, I thank all of my colleagues at the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Vienna for their support and the positive atmo- sphere, in particular Barbara Agnese and Christine Ivanovic. I also address my thanks to colleagues at the Institute of General and Comparative Literature at the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, who kindly hosted me during the final stages of this book, in particular to Winfried Eckel and Dieter Lamping. My thanks go to Paul Ferstl for all his help with the editing of this study. Furthermore, a big thank-you to Kacy Walschots for correcting and proofread- ing this book despite our continuous transnational moves, and thank you so much to Helen O’Sullivan for her swift and careful corrections during the final stages of this book. <UN> x Acknowledgements Zu guter Letzt danke an meine Eltern für die Unterstützung in der Endphase dieser Arbeit. Grazie mille anche a Pina per il suo grande aiuto, quando ne abbiamo avuto bisogno. Above all, I would like to thank Joseph and Antonino Falduto. Joseph, for teaching me the importance of concentration and reaching conclusions, and Antonino for reading, discussing, and commenting on my work, and for so much more. <UN> chapter 1 Introduction The foreigner, they say, can never be trusted – / Because a wall, almost impenetrable/ Will always separate the enrooted from the homeless… Tom Lanoye, Mamma Medea The artist as intercultural diplomat is able to cross many borders that solemn political activists are unable to. GUILLERMO GÓMEZ-PEÑA, A Binational Performance Pilgrimage Consumers of any Austrian media, whether they are interested in culture or prefer sports, will gain the impression of an ethnically and culturally mixed society. Here are some examples: Monika Ivkic, born in 1989 in Yugoslavia, came to Austria aged just 18 months during the Bosnian War. In 2008, she par- ticipated as the only Austrian candidate in the German talent show Deutschland sucht den Superstar [Germany Seeks a Superstar]. Vincent Bueno’s parents come from the Philippines; he was born in 1985 in Vienna. Bueno won the Austrian talent show Musical – Die Show [Musical – The Show] in 2008. Conchita Wurst, the transvestite stage persona performed by Thomas Neuwirth, was supposedly born in the Colombian mountains. In 2014, Conchita Wurst, a diva with a full beard, won the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen as the Austrian representative. Similar examples can also be found in the world of sports: The swimmers Mirna Jukic and her brother Dinko Jukic, born in 1986 and 1989, respectively, in the former Yugoslavia, came to Austria in 1999 and both swam for Austria at the Olympic Games. Iva Vastic, born in 1969 in the former Yugoslavia where he also grew up, came to Austria in 1991 where he continued his football career in various clubs and also played for the Austrian national team. The current national football team of the country presents itself as a mixed one when it comes to origin: David Alaba’s parents come from the Philippines and Nigeria, respectively, Zlatko Junuzovic is of Bosnian descent, Veli Kavlak, born in Vienna, is of Turkish descent, Valentino Lazaro was born in Graz to a mother of Greek descent and an Angolan father – to name only a few examples of a young and ambitious team. The diversity of the Austrian population is also visible in less prominent areas, that is, for instance on the streets