Trilogy of Failure

The Trilogy of Failure is a novel trilogy by the German writer Wolfgang Koeppen . It consists of his three main works:

Although originally published as individual novels, the novels were often published and discussed together in later editions. Often this happens without a parent title. The term trilogy of failure was coined by literary criticism. The “failure” refers to the failed hopes that after 1945 a new beginning would have been possible. Koeppen himself used the term for the second novel in the trilogy: " I wrote the greenhouse as the novel of failure."

Marcel Reich-Ranicki judged: “These books belong together: They are parts of a trilogy. Their main theme is: the Germans after the collapse of the ' Third Reich '. ”According to Wolfgang Pütz , the post-war period in Germany is played out in all three novels using exemplary characters, locations and events. They thus form a thematic unit and are among the most important works of German post-war literature .

Individual evidence

↑ Ulrike Böhmel Fichera: “There is reason to be very modest.” A sense of guilt in the texts of the 'inner emigrants' after 1945. In: Marcin Golaszewski, Magdalena Kardach, Leonore Krenzlin (eds.): Between Inner Emigration and Exile. German-speaking writers 1933–1945. De Gruyter, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-11-045278-5 , p. 322.

↑ Matthias Kussmann: In search of the lost self. Wolfgang Koeppen's late work . Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2001, ISBN 3-8260-2084-7 , p. 29.

↑ Marcel Reich-Ranicki: Der Zeuge Koeppen (1963). In: My German literature since 1945 . DVA 2015, ISBN 978-3-641-17354-8 .

↑ Wolfgang Pütz: Wolfgang Koeppen: "Pigeons in the grass". Reading key for school pupils. Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-15-015429-8 , chapter 1.

[1] Ulrike Böhmel Fichera: “There is reason to be very modest.” A sense of guilt in the texts of the 'inner emigrants' after 1945. In: Marcin Golaszewski, Magdalena Kardach, Leonore Krenzlin (eds.): Between Inner Emigration and Exile. German-speaking writers 1933–1945. De Gruyter, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-11-045278-5 , p. 322.

[2] Matthias Kussmann: In search of the lost self. Wolfgang Koeppen's late work . Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2001, ISBN 3-8260-2084-7 , p. 29.

[3] Marcel Reich-Ranicki: Der Zeuge Koeppen (1963). In: My German literature since 1945 . DVA 2015, ISBN 978-3-641-17354-8 .

[4] Wolfgang Pütz: Wolfgang Koeppen: "Pigeons in the grass". Reading key for school pupils. Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-15-015429-8 , chapter 1.