Humor, satire, and identity : eastern German literature in the 1990s / Jill E. Twark.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Twark, Jill E., 1968-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

German wit and humor--Germany (East).

German wit and humor.

German literature--20th century--History and criticism.

German literature.

Germany (East)--In literature.

Germany (East).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (484 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berlin ; New York : Walter de Gruyter, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This is the first book in English to survey the Eastern German literary trend of employing humor and satire to come to terms with experiences in the German Democratic Republic and after the fall of the Berlin Wall. As sophisticated attempts to make sense of socialism's failure and a difficult unification process, these contemporary texts help define Germany today from a specific, Eastern German perspective. Grounded in politics and history, ten humorous and satirical novels are analyzed for their literary aesthetics and language, cultural critiques, and socio-political insights. The texts include popular novels such as Thomas Brussig's Helden wie wir, Ingo Schulze's Simple Storys, and Jens Sparschuh's Der Zimmerspringbrunnen, as well as lesser-known but equally relevant works like Schlehweins Giraffe by Bernd Schirmer and Katerfrühstück by Erich Loest. A broad spectrum of humor and satire theories is applied to probe texts from various angles and suggest multi-layered answers to the question of how these literary modes function in postwall Germany to construct a specifically Eastern German identity. Interviews the author conducted with five of the satirists are appended as primary sources and contribute to the interpretation of the texts.

Contents:

Front matter

Acknowledgements

Table of Contents

Introduction. Humor and Satire as Responses to the Wende

Chapter 1. The Comic Survivor: Self-Irony and Defensiveness in the Post-Wende Transition

Chapter 2. The Picaresque as a Means to Reckon with the GDR

Chapter 3. Regional Identities and Family Feuds Under the Microscope of Ironic Realism

Chapter 4. Grotesque Configurations of Body, Language, and Narrative as Expressions of Trauma and Refractory Identities

Conclusion. Building an Eastern German Identity by Sustaining and Subverting Past and Present German Society

Appendices

Works Consulted

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [409]-471).

ISBN:

9783110958140

3110958147

OCLC:

843206955