The Ecological Voice In Recent German-swiss Prose. (cultural Identity Studies; V.24)

This study focuses on the five most prominent Swiss writers of the last thirty-five years whose work features ecological crisis. It is an analysis of five narratologically divergent styles, ranging from the eco-parables of Franz Hohler to the hermeneutically defiant work of Gertrud Leutenegger. Between these poles, the author also explores works by Walther Kauer, Max Frisch and Beat Sterchi. Previously unpublished material from interviews with three of the authors is included. These writers are not only the most widely read and respected ecologically committed authors in Switzerland but also present a wide range of approaches to ecological problems in terms of both form and content. The study’s purpose is not merely to provide a survey of fictional, ecological discourse in Switzerland but to analyse the literary strategies used: how well do the ways the authors tell their tales support their critical thrust? This question is posed within the proposition of the theoretical framework of an ‘ecological voice’. Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction - 1 1.1 Literature and Ecology - 6 1.2 The Ecological Voice - 26 Chapter 2 - Franz Hohler’s Eco-Parables - 35 2.1 Franz Hohler’s ‘kurze Geschichten’ and ‘Kurzgeschichten’ - 44 2.2 Der neue Berg - 62 2.3 Die Steinflut - 78 Chapter 3 - Walther Kauer’s Spätholz: Capitalism, Fascism and Subsistence Farming - 91 Chapter 4 - Max Frisch’s Der Mensch erscheint im Holozän: Ecological Eschatology - 113 4.1 Max Frisch and Ecology - 113 4.2 Der Mensch erscheint im Holozän - 116 Chapter 5 - Beat Sterchi’s Blösch: A Bovine Plea for Biocentrism - 133 5.1 The Farm - 134 5.2 The Abattoir - 145 Chapter 6 - Gertrud Leutenegger’s Metanoic Narratives - 157 6.1 Das verlorene Monument: Concrete Apocalypse - 162 6.2 Lebewohl, Gute Reise - 178 6.3 Kontinent: ein geschildertes Tonstück - 193 Chapter 7 - Conclusion - 215 7.1 Thematic Emphases - 215 7.2 Narrative Strategies - 228 Bibliography - 233 Index - 241 Focuses on the five prominent Swiss writers of the last thirty-five years whose work features ecological crisis. This title offers an analysis of five narratologically divergent styles, ranging from the eco-parables of Franz Hohler to the hermeneutically defiant work of Gertrud Leutenegger.