The German novel in the twentieth century

From the demise of realism to the origins and growth of modernism, this book examines 20th-century German writing. It gives an account of developments in narrative technique as German novelists lived through a century of cultural and political change culminating in the Reunification. Using selected novels by Fontane, Rilke, Musil, Kafka, Hesse, Doblin, Thomas Mann, Gunter Grass, Uwe Johnson and Christa Wolf, the book sets out close studies of the relationship between theme and technique. It shows how authors questioned and subverted the conventions of 19th century literary realism yet were still heavily influenced by it. Easing the transition of literary criticism from a realist approach to a more modern perception of literature, the book also includes a full guide to further reading.