East-German writer has reached the free­ the first detailed treatment in English of dom he has aspired to, that he is now the colorful, fascinating, prestigious, but permitted to try new literary styles and also (as the preceding quotations may modernistic artistic devices, and that he illustrate) protean Group 47. Mandel de­ can now deal with unconventional themes votes his opening chapter and postscript and individualistic subject matter. Most of to the history and nature of the Group; the thirty-five writers included in this he offers, for instance, particularly infor­ collection were born in the thirties or mative comments on Der Ruf (the "news- forties; it is therefore understandable that leaf published in Munich between Au­ the war and its effects on Germany ap­ gust 1946 and April 1947 and the pear, if at all, in the far background of seedbed from which the Group sprang) their stories. While writers of the older and the changing styles of the literature generation still deal with motifs and im­ read from the "electric chair" during the ages of the war, the younger authors regularly scheduled Group meetings bet­ show a greater interest in the present and ween 1947 and 1967. Briefly: after the the future of their country. And although so-called Trümmerliteratur had run its some of them deal with and refer to course, during the fifties, the "discovery" socialism, they are not tendentious or of such writers as Joyce, Kafka, and partisan. A few of them even stress the Faulkner encouraged Group members to humorous and ironical aspects of the sys­ produce a rich body of literature varying tem they live in; and this makes their in styles and techniques; "in the sixties, writings congenial and appealing. Erzähler trends became even more diffuse, flowing aus der DDR is a valuable collection of mainly into two channels: politically active different narrative forms and varying literature, more intense than ever since themes and motifs; it should be recom­ the end of the war, and avant-gardism" mended to literary critics and historians as —Mandel's bête noire—"which created hy­ well as students of comparative literature. brid forms of literature and aimed a mas­ sive assault upon every literary tradition." The 1968 meeting, scheduled to be held near Prague, was canceled because of the S. Elkhadem military invasion of Czechoslovakia; and as Richter himself informed Mandel, "I then promised the Czech writers that we would not again hold group meetings until it would be possible to do so in Prague." In 1972, however, Richter relented and called a small meeting at his Berlin home, but now Group 47 probably has passed SIEGFRIED MANDEL into literary history. "Would it be pos­ Group 47: The Reflected Intellect sible," Richter questions.for members of the Carbondale: Southern Illinois Univ. new generation "to go along with the Press, 1973. Pp. 232. $8.95. ground rules of Group 47? I would hardly think so." As distinguished as the produc­ tions of Group members have been, Group 47 "became a legend in its time." Mandel points to an important "enigma": "Some have called its existence mythical the "past," that is, the Nazi regime and and its definition impossible." It "is a the catastrophic war, was "not in any sig­ paradox": "It is one man, Hans Werner nificant measure objectified through litera­ Richter, and at the same time an expand­ ture." Of course, the fiction of Günter ing and contracting constellation identifi­ Grass is the great exception. able by several constant stars." It is (or was) "a loosely-knit association of writers who periodically exhibited their wares Because of the "fluid" nature of the . engaged in critical debate over Group itself, it is understandable, I sup­ socio-literary-aesthetic issues, and assisted pose, that the major portion of Mandel's in revitalizing all forms of literary expres­ book is a survey of works written by sion inside and outside the fluid group. authors who have been at one time or It kept alive because it never hardened another members of the Group; or, in into a school of style or inflexible ideology." other words, the book presents an over­ view of much of the important contem­ Siegfried Mandel's third contribution to porary literature written in German. the Crosscurrents/Modern Critiques series Reading Mandel's chapters on fiction, is an especially welcome volume, for it is poetry, the radio play, the documentary, Brief Mentions 91 and the stage (television is omitted) is useful appendix: a chronological list of similar to touring a museum of contem­ the thirty meetings of the Group (month, porary art with an expert guide, who year, place indicated), a list of the two necessarily moves rapidly, works largely hundred authors who have read at the with generalizations, combines historical meetings, identification of the ten prize and critical comments, and sometimes of­ winners (to the above, add Günter Eich, fers quick evaluations. Though there are 1950, and Johannes Bobrowski, 1962), obvious dangers in such a "tour," in gen­ and a "Selected Bibliography" divided eral Mandel offers a very handy collection into several sections (that on "Individual of brief but judicious critical judgments. Authors" nearly ignores articles and Naturally readers will worry about some therefore is much too selective). omissions and inclusions, and about some possible inaccuracies and misjudgments. If one does not go to the book expect­ From my point of view, Mandel's desire to ing detailed criticism of individual works survey contemporary German literature of literature and if one adds a few de­ causes him to deviate at times too much murrers, Group 47: The Reflected Intellect from Group 47 itself: for instance, a lives up to the claim of Harry T. Moore, number of pages are allotted to Rolf the general editor of the Crosscurrents Hochhuth, who has had no association series—"a first-rate work of literary his­ with the Group; and the most lengthy tory illuminated by first-rate criticism." comments on a single author are those on Perhaps for a good while to come Paul Celan, who obviously interests Man- Mandel's book will remain the best source del but who read at a single Group of information about the phenomenal meeting. Or to note the type of small Group 47. omission which all readers will probably discover, Mandel refers, without en­ thusiasm, to what he implies is Jakov Daniel P. Deneau Lind's only novel, Landscape in Concrete; unfortunately, Lind did publish a succes­ sor, the virtually unreadable Ergo (1967; Eine bessere Welt, 1966). Given some of the material that Mandel is forced to observe, it is not at all surprising that he some­ times drops the neutral tone of much RUTH S. EL SAFFAR modern criticism. In one important case Novel to Romance: A Study of his personal viewpoint may or should Cervantes's Novelas ejemplares annoy many readers; not only does he Baltimore: The John Hopkins distrust "avant-gardism," but he concludes University Press, 1974. Pp. 189. his chapter on "the radio play" with this $9.50. extraordinary pronouncement: "Ex­ perimentation, in my vocabulary, means The Novelas ejemplares (1613) of Miguel unsuccessful art." Indeed! And what de Cervantes have been divided, tradi­ would happen to art if many people used tionally, into two groups: the idealistic or such an absurd "vocabulary"? To turn to Italianate novels (written early) and the something within the realm of good sense, realistic or national novels (written late). 1 Ix'lieve that Mandel's chapter on fiction Between these two extremes there is a is the Ix-st of the surveys in the volume; in buffer zone in which idealism is tinged this case the Group itself remains clearly with realism. This is usually referred to as in view as the individual artists parade by. Cervantes's period of transition (for a After noticing the work of Richter and summary of this traditional criticism see J. Allied Andersch, Mandel comments in L. Alborg, Historia de la literatura espanola chronological order on a number of [Madrid: Gredos, 1967] II, 91-119). The Group prize winners, as well as several situation seems remarkably simple, yet, in other more or less well-known figures: actual fact, it is not, for there are many Heinrich Böll (prize, 1951), Use Aichinger unsolved (and perhaps insoluble) prob­ (1952), Adriaan Morriën (1954), Martin lems to be taken into account. There is, Walser (1955), Günter Grass (1958), Uwe for example, no established chronological Johnson. Peter Handke, Hubert Fichte, order for the twelve tales which combine Peter Bichsel (1965), Jürgen Becker to form the exemplary novels; further, it (1967). Ingeborg Bachmann (1953, for is almost certain that the order in which poetry), Jakov Lind, and Tadeusz Now- they appear in the 1613 edition has little akowski. The book concludes with a very- to do with the order in which they were 92 The International Fiction Review .