I'm dredging seriously old memories here (12 years of book reading makes those texts many many books ago). I tried to find the syllabus, but couldn't--maybe in my last move I finally got rid of some of those college papers.
That having been said, the two things I remember clearly are The Wall Jumper and Monika Maron. The Wall Jumper (could be with an s, Jumpers) was a matter of fact text--mixture of fiction and accounts the day-to-day life of people who lived on both sides of the wall. Monika Maron was an East German writer whose work was banned for a long time. The book we read for the class was called The Defector, about a woman who who decides to defect from her life, literally erasing herself from existence (hence the more metaphorical wall jumper). I liked the writing so much that I bought several of her books, of which the best was Silent Close (#6? #8? I can't remember the exact title). This story was more overtly political, dealing with neighbors who may or may not be members of the secret police. As I recall, she has a dreamy introspective style.
well, okay, maybe the creepy preoccupation with incest is not to love
Maybe a "hate to love." One of the things I love about literature is that I can love the things I don't so much love, if I had to be confronted with them in the everyday.
That having been said, the two things I remember clearly are The Wall Jumper and Monika Maron. The Wall Jumper (could be with an s, Jumpers) was a matter of fact text--mixture of fiction and accounts the day-to-day life of people who lived on both sides of the wall. Monika Maron was an East German writer whose work was banned for a long time. The book we read for the class was called The Defector, about a woman who who decides to defect from her life, literally erasing herself from existence (hence the more metaphorical wall jumper). I liked the writing so much that I bought several of her books, of which the best was Silent Close (#6? #8? I can't remember the exact title). This story was more overtly political, dealing with neighbors who may or may not be members of the secret police. As I recall, she has a dreamy introspective style.
well, okay, maybe the creepy preoccupation with incest is not to love
Maybe a "hate to love." One of the things I love about literature is that I can love the things I don't so much love, if I had to be confronted with them in the everyday.
Reply
Leave a comment