The store
The store is a trilogy of novels by Erwin Strittmatter that was published between 1983 and 1992.
Strittmatter describes village life in Lausitz . The trilogy also has autobiographical features and ranges from the period after the First World War to the early GDR . At the center of the novel are Esau Matt and his family, a bakery with a grocery store (actually in Bossdom Bohsdorf ) has and "beats" with this through the ages. From a linguistic point of view, it is important that Strittmatter includes both Lusatian dialects and Sorbian cues.
action
The Matt family buys a bakery and grocery store in Bossdom. Customers there are difficult, and envy and resentment prevail. After the family has settled in, Esau has to go to school. There the teacher Rumposch tortures the students with senseless outbursts of violence. As the population of the village increases, you need your own post office , which your mother takes over. Despite the many sources of income, they are not doing very well financially because neither mother nor father can run a business. This often leads to quarrels between them, as does the father's affair with the house maid Hanka. Esau is sent by his parents to the "high" school in Grodk (Sorbian name Sprembergs ). He has a great talent for writing and wants to be a poet as a young boy. An important person in his life is the grandfather.
At high school he falls in love with the fine Ilonka Spadi, but she separates from him when the new teacher, Dr. Apple grain, in love with her. Esau leaves the school sadly.
In the second volume, the life of an adolescent boy in high school is described in detail.
After his return from World War II, Esau discovers that Bossdom has been occupied by the Russians. His father now has to bake for the Soviet army, and his sister-in-law (his brother's wife) is pregnant after being raped by Soviet soldiers. Esau begins an affair with the local parish nurse . After the death of his grandfather he receives a letter from his "war love", she tells him that she was pregnant and now has a two year old child by him. After arriving in Bossdom, he marries her, but continues to have an affair with the community nurse until her fiancé returns. His mother dies after the expropriation, the father becomes a member of the SED and Esau Matt becomes the main editor of Volksstimme . He also becomes a member of the SED.
Problem
- Beginning of National Socialism
- Poor people's lives
- Life in Lusatia , bilingualism
- War returnees
- different political opinions
- inflation
- Post-war period after the Second World War in Germany
literature
- Erwin Strittmatter: The shop . Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin 1995/97
- 1995, ISBN 3-351-03006-1 .
- 1996, ISBN 3-351-03007-X .
- 1997, ISBN 3-351-02358-8 .
- Erwin Strittmatter: The shop . Der Audio-Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 978-3-898-13294-7 (6 CDs).
- Arno Mohr: Ten woodcuts for Erich Strittmatter's “The Shop” . Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-351-00879-1 .
Film adaptation / theater
Under the title of the same name, there is a film adaptation from 1998 , which has been shortened compared to the book, as the diverse relationships and actions of the villagers can hardly be incorporated into a comprehensive film project. The poetic film trilogy and its actors received several prizes, such as the German Television Prize and the 1999 Adolf Grimme Prize .
Through the Cottbus State Theater was The store on two evenings (ideas) in a theater version of Holger Teschke , directed version of Mario Holetzeck and Bettina Jantzen, staged in 2012 and first performed with great success in June 2012 found.