Against the Grain: New Anthology of Contemporary Austrian Prose. (Studies in Austrian Literature, Culture, and Thought. Translation Series)

The authors whose works are represented in this anthology are above all those who began to publish in the 1980's or whose main prose works began to leave an impression on public consciousness during this period. Observers of the literary scene agree that from about the beginning of the 1980's a 'directional change' made itself felt. The new literature is a reaction against the so-called 'classical modern' literature that appeared at the end of the fifties, itself a counter-trend to what was then the dominant literary view. It was a progressive 'avant-garde' that was radically unsettling to the reigning paradigms of narration. Since linear narrating could no longer do justice to social discrepancies and indeed had an affirming effect, it was necessary 'to develop a narrative that deconstructed and exposed the old realism,' as it was formulated, for example, in the critical theories of Horkheimer and Adorno. In our search for a label for the recent trend and counter-trend to 'classical modern,' we unfortunately cannot avoid the often strained concept of 'postmodern.' Everything that declared itself to be 'innovative' was gradually seen as 'art' and 'culture.' -- The stylistic change which gradually began to unfold at the beginning of the eighties, places the idea of progress and its linear model of time into question. The political development also reflected the loss of a 'progressive' perspective. -- The collection of stories in this anthology reflects the new trends in Austrian literature at the threshold of the upcoming twenty-first century.