De Gruyter Humor, Satire, and Identity: Eastern German Literature in the 1990s

This is the first book in English to explore the Eastern German literary trend of the 1990s employing humor and satire to come to terms with socialism´s failure and a difficult unification process. The ten novels in this survey include works by Brussig, Schulze, and Hensel. These popular, contemporary texts help define Germany today from a specific, East German perspective. Grounded in politics and history, the texts are analyzed for their literary aesthetics, cultural critiques, and socio-political insights. Several original author interviews are appended as primary sources.