Why Jenny Erpenbeck?

This course will introduce you to the German author Jenny Erpenbeck, recipient of the International Booker Prize. Growing up in East Germany she experienced the collapse of the Berlin Wall and writes about the dilemmas it introduced, such as how personal identity is affected when your country disappears, how Germany is handling millions of new refugees, and how the horrors of the 20th century have affected people’s lives.

Required Readings:

Jenny Erpenbeck, Kairos, ISBN 978-0811238533; Go Went Gone, ISBN 978-0811225946; Visitation, ISBN 978-0811218351.

Ann Kimmage has been a long-time instructor pursuing wide-ranging literary topics in her MSC courses. She grew up in communist Czechoslovakia while Jenny Erpenbeck grew up in communist East Germany. Appreciation of their similar experiences, combined with Erpenbeck’s profound exploration of vital present-day issues, motivates Kimmage’s examination of Jenny Erpenbeck’s oeuvre.