Michael Hofmann

Johnson-Jahrbuch Bd. 15 / 2008 Michael Hofmann

The contributions in this volume take different approaches to the complex narrative procedures in the novels of Uwe Johnson. Re-readings of the Wendisch-Burg and the Althagen episodes from Jahrestage (Anniversaries) as well as the often underestimated Zei Ansichten (Two Views) show the exactitude with which the texts are constructed. The fact that the precision of Johnson's narratives always begins with the choice of names, is illustrated by Jakob in Mutmassungen (Speculations about Jakob). Against the background of current modernism debates, parallel readings in particular offer new perspectives on known texts. The comparison between the literary scholars Johnson and Sebald and their moral narrative models with respect to the Shoah, the comparison with Musil's Mann ohne Eigenschaften (Man without Qualities) and the detailed narratological analysis of Ingeborg Bachmann's Der Fall Franza (The Franza Case) in her unfinished Todesarten (Manners of Death) cycle allow a re-positioning of Johnson's narrative style in the context of modern writing. Extensive reviews complete the volume. German text.