For 30 years, Maxim Biller has been producing a body of work whose range of voices is unprecedented in post-1945 German-language literature. His books received critical acclaim and have been translated into numerous languages. High time for a general critical assessment!
Biller’s work to date encompasses various genres, styles, and registers – from great contemporary novel, psychologically complex narrative, critical contemporary theater to controversial interventions. A wide range of traditions come together to give rise to a global literary conversation: Philip Roth and Saul Bellow meet Jaroslav Hašek and Franz Kafka, the writing styles of international modernism merge with the literary aesthetics of the post-war period, and the great Weimar era of Jewish criticism meets New Journalism.
This volume, edited by literary scholar Kai Sina, considers all facets of Biller’s work and itself combines various approaches from science, journalism, and literature. It examines Biller’s style as well as the great themes around which his work revolves: the long shadows of the German past and Stalinist tyranny, family secrets, and the fate of his own biography. This book is for everyone who appreciates Maxim Biller’s work, but also for anyone looking for an initial introduction to his literary world.
"As informative as it is enjoyable to read." – NZZ
