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The Author, the Novel, the Reader and the Perils of "Neue Lesbarkeit": A Comparative Analysis of Bernhard Schlink's "Selbs Justiz" and "Der Vorleser"'

Katharina Hall

German Life and Letters, Volume: 59, Issue: 3, Pages: 446 - 467

Swansea University Author: Katharina Hall

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DOI (Published version): 10.1111/j.0016-8777.2006.00360.x

Abstract

Ten years after the publication of Der Vorleser, this article argues that Schlink's work can only be fully understood when viewed in the commercial contexts that currently shape both German and global literatures. By undertaking a comparative analysis of Schlink's debut detective novel, Se...

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Published in: German Life and Letters
Published: 2006
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa2489
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spelling 2011-10-01T00:00:00.0000000 v2 2489 2011-10-01 The Author, the Novel, the Reader and the Perils of "Neue Lesbarkeit": A Comparative Analysis of Bernhard Schlink's "Selbs Justiz" and "Der Vorleser"' 9acff4a5cfcde0ceabdf912818024fea Katharina Hall Katharina Hall true false 2011-10-01 FGHSS Ten years after the publication of Der Vorleser, this article argues that Schlink's work can only be fully understood when viewed in the commercial contexts that currently shape both German and global literatures. By undertaking a comparative analysis of Schlink's debut detective novel, Selbs Justiz (1987) and his international best-seller Der Vorleser (1995), the article explores the problematic tensions generated within these texts by the commercial demands of the literary market-place, and, in a specifically German context, the influence of ‘neue Lesbarkeit’. Special consideration is given to the dynamic between Schlink's works and the reader/consumer, with particular emphasis on the impact of the popular literary codes within the texts. These are explored in conjunction with the reception theory of Wolfgang Iser and Umberto Eco, and through the lens of over two hundred reader responses. The article breaks new ground through its comparative approach, which traces the continuities or ‘narrative patterns’ in Schlink's detective writing and Der Vorleser for the first time. It also offers the first exploration of ‘general’, non-academic reader responses to the works, allowing new insights into the texts’ operations and the tensions these create in relation to the novels’ treatment of the National Socialist past. Journal Article German Life and Letters 59 3 446 467 German literature, German history, National Socialism, comparative literature studies, reception theory 31 12 2006 2006-12-31 10.1111/j.0016-8777.2006.00360.x COLLEGE NANME Humanities and Social Sciences - Faculty COLLEGE CODE FGHSS Swansea University 2011-10-01T00:00:00.0000000 2011-10-01T00:00:00.0000000 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - Modern Languages, Translation, and Interpreting Katharina Hall 1
title The Author, the Novel, the Reader and the Perils of "Neue Lesbarkeit": A Comparative Analysis of Bernhard Schlink's "Selbs Justiz" and "Der Vorleser"'
spellingShingle The Author, the Novel, the Reader and the Perils of "Neue Lesbarkeit": A Comparative Analysis of Bernhard Schlink's "Selbs Justiz" and "Der Vorleser"'
Katharina Hall
title_short The Author, the Novel, the Reader and the Perils of "Neue Lesbarkeit": A Comparative Analysis of Bernhard Schlink's "Selbs Justiz" and "Der Vorleser"'
title_full The Author, the Novel, the Reader and the Perils of "Neue Lesbarkeit": A Comparative Analysis of Bernhard Schlink's "Selbs Justiz" and "Der Vorleser"'
title_fullStr The Author, the Novel, the Reader and the Perils of "Neue Lesbarkeit": A Comparative Analysis of Bernhard Schlink's "Selbs Justiz" and "Der Vorleser"'
title_full_unstemmed The Author, the Novel, the Reader and the Perils of "Neue Lesbarkeit": A Comparative Analysis of Bernhard Schlink's "Selbs Justiz" and "Der Vorleser"'
title_sort The Author, the Novel, the Reader and the Perils of "Neue Lesbarkeit": A Comparative Analysis of Bernhard Schlink's "Selbs Justiz" and "Der Vorleser"'
author_id_str_mv 9acff4a5cfcde0ceabdf912818024fea
author_id_fullname_str_mv 9acff4a5cfcde0ceabdf912818024fea_***_Katharina Hall
author Katharina Hall
author2 Katharina Hall
format Journal article
container_title German Life and Letters
container_volume 59
container_issue 3
container_start_page 446
publishDate 2006
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.1111/j.0016-8777.2006.00360.x
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - Modern Languages, Translation, and Interpreting{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - Modern Languages, Translation, and Interpreting
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description Ten years after the publication of Der Vorleser, this article argues that Schlink's work can only be fully understood when viewed in the commercial contexts that currently shape both German and global literatures. By undertaking a comparative analysis of Schlink's debut detective novel, Selbs Justiz (1987) and his international best-seller Der Vorleser (1995), the article explores the problematic tensions generated within these texts by the commercial demands of the literary market-place, and, in a specifically German context, the influence of ‘neue Lesbarkeit’. Special consideration is given to the dynamic between Schlink's works and the reader/consumer, with particular emphasis on the impact of the popular literary codes within the texts. These are explored in conjunction with the reception theory of Wolfgang Iser and Umberto Eco, and through the lens of over two hundred reader responses. The article breaks new ground through its comparative approach, which traces the continuities or ‘narrative patterns’ in Schlink's detective writing and Der Vorleser for the first time. It also offers the first exploration of ‘general’, non-academic reader responses to the works, allowing new insights into the texts’ operations and the tensions these create in relation to the novels’ treatment of the National Socialist past.
published_date 2006-12-31T03:05:51Z
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score 10.999161

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