Neighbours and Strangers: Literary and Cultural Relations in Germany, Austria and Central Europe since 1989 (German Monitor 59)

The 15 essays collected here focus on literary and cultural relations between Germany or Austria on the one hand and the neighbouring countries of eastern and southern Europe on the other, with particular reference to the period since the Wende, but also with a glance back to the period of German division. Topics include the overarching theme of psychological, political, historical and geographical boundaries and the perspective offered by German writers from both East and West on Poland, Russia and neighbouring countries. Equally important to the contributors are specific authors who have crossed national and cultural borders, such as Libuše Moníková, Irena Brežna, Richard Wagner and Hans Bergel. The role of memory, Vergangenheit, time and space are examined in the context of works by Anna Mitgutsch, W G Sebald, Christoph Ransmayr and Elisabeth Reichart, and the reception of the theories of Pierre Nora in the German-speaking countries. The re-emergence of t! he Right in politics, drama and film forms a further dimension explored in these essays. Neighbours and Strangers will be of interest to students and scholars working on contemporary German and Austrian culture.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Introduction Brigid HAINES: ‘Böhmen liegt am Meer’, or When Writers Redraw Maps Julian PREECE: The German Imagination and the Decline of the East: Three Recent German Novels (Edgar Hilsenrath, Jossel Wassermanns Heimkehr; Hans-Ulrich Treichel, Der verlorene; Günther Grass, Im Krebsgang) Mariana-Virginia LÃZÃRESCU: Rumänität in den Büchern eines Deutschen David ROCK: ‘A German comes home to Germany’: Richard Wagner’s journey from the Banat to Berlin, from the periphery to the centre Dagmar KOŠT’ÁLOVÁ: Die Migrantenschriftstellerin Irena Brežná Anthony BUSHELL: The Return of the Native, or the Neighbours are back: Anna Mitgutsch’s novel Haus der Kindheit Juliet WIGMORE: Dreams on the Danube. Elisabeth Reichart’s Nachtmär Arthur WILLIAMS: ‘immer weiter ostwärts und immer weiter zurück in der Zeit’: Exploring the extended kith and kin of W.G. Sebald’s Austerlitz Anthony MURPHY: Culture Clash: The Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the Austrian Avant-Garde in the 1990s Ian FOSTER: The limits of memory: Christoph Ransmayr’s journalistic writings Nicole L. IMMLER: ‘Gedächtnisgeschichte’ – Ein Vergleich von Deutschland und Österreich in Bezug auf Pierre Noras Konzept der lieux de mémoire Ricarda SCHMIDT: Albanische Bräute, Monokeleffekt und montenegrinische Barbarei: DDR-Erfahrung in der Fremde und Subjektutopie in Irmtraud Morgners Hochzeit in Konstantinopel Renate RECHTIEN: Irene Böhme’s novel Die Buchhändlerin. A Case of Reconstructing the Past in the Image of the Future? Birgit HAAS: Contemporary German Drama as Aesthetic Resistance against Right-wing Radicalism Alexandra LUDEWIG: ‘Heimat’ in Central European Cinema Notes on Contributors