Dictionary (novel)
Dictionary is a novel by Jenny Erpenbeck , published in 2005 by Eichborn Verlag .
content
The family of the first-person narrator consists of three people: the father, the mother and the daughter. The father is a high-ranking military officer who acts on behalf of the Argentine dictator, the mother takes care of the child. The daughter goes to a strict military school. The family employs a wet nurse and a caretaker.
The whole story takes place in an unnamed South American country around 1980 while General Videla ruled the area. During this time, many citizens disappeared without a trace. This aspect is also mentioned in the plot of the book. In addition, there is repeated talk of falling shots and death, for which the main character of the book tries to find harmless explanations. The main character has already seen and experienced a lot of bad things in her life. She tries to suppress all of that, but whenever she hears a certain word or comes to a certain place, all memories come back. She does not manage to close herself off from the past and has to face her life. Although she doesn't want to, she uncovered the dark secret of her past when she tried to understand what happened. As a baby, she witnessed her parents being tortured to death. She herself came to the family of the responsible intelligence officer, where she was supposed to be rehabilitated. Therefore she was raised by the wet nurse and not by her surrogate mother.
Little by little, she remembers the words of that time that left their mark on her mind. With the keyword “milk” she understands why her mother hired a wet nurse, with “hands” she remembers the nurse's daughter mutilated by her adoptive father, and with “knife” she thinks of the prisoners who were locked in the torture cellar. So every word is linked to a picture or a small scene. Although the father eventually goes to prison, she does not regain her freedom that way.
scene of action
The exact location is never clearly mentioned. However, based on some passages in the text, it can be concluded that it is a city in the south. The houses are painted brightly, the sun shines all year round and the people are tanned. An obelisk is also mentioned, which probably means the one in the center of Buenos Aires . Further evidence, including the Difunta Correa mentioned, allows the assumption that it is a South American country, very likely Argentina .
style
The writing style is very special. There are sentences that are a whole page long, but also those that consist of a single word. In addition, many things are only hinted at, which makes the book difficult to understand.
particularities
Songs are mentioned again and again in the book, for example Guten Abend, gut 'Nacht by Johannes Brahms or Weibertreue (from the opera Così fan tutte ) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . Numerous proverbs are also quoted.
Reviews
“A political and at the same time wonderful book.” - Focus , on the spine
"Jenny Erpenbeck succeeds in a linguistic balancing act in which horror and beauty nestle against one another and in which even the unsaid receives an unparalleled impact."
“Jenny Erpenbeck's elaborate prose belongs to a rare type of literature that teaches creeps without depicting it. It puts the reader in a state of limbo between dream and reality and leaves no doubt that the nightmare always lurks behind both. ”- Neue Zürcher Zeitung of July 12, 2005.
“The artificial, infantile tone that Jenny Erpenbeck uses in her new novel 'Dictionary' has something about it that has aged prematurely. Erpenbeck is not satisfied with reconstructing a childhood world filled with fear - including language acquisition, hence the title 'dictionary' - but also sets the story in an anonymous totalitarian country that is strongly reminiscent of Argentina. The place remains a mystery, the evil vague. ”- Süddeutsche Zeitung of May 31, 2005.
“'The Dictionary' by Jenny Erpenbeck is not an alphabetical reference work, but a devastating linguistics structured according to the psycho-logic of a split consciousness. A superficially intact word index, but actually a lexicon of lies with only seemingly harmless terminology. [...] With relentless accuracy, Jenny Erpenbeck creates the exact cartography of a language that has fallen out of joint and a damaged consciousness. The formal means that she uses for this are overwhelming: an experimental language that often loses its strength precisely because of its obsessive originality. What always impresses are the sound, the highly suggestive language composition and the language rhythm, which is sophisticated down to the last syllable, right down to the artistic punctuation. The reader is exposed to monologizing, sometimes even talkative head prose, which hurls him through the text with tremendous force. "
“The only strange thing is that the text, referring exclusively to itself and not beyond, seems to devour everything like a black hole. Few impressions stick, even the powerful language quickly fades. And even stranger that, despite the use of these enormous linguistic means, the story is not really able to touch you. "
“It is impressive how Jenny Erpenbeck succeeds in this prose text in keeping the background of the plot in the balance until the end, so that a meaningful murmur pervades him. Because the author does not allow her readers more insight than the child, who cannot explain various events. "
Web links
- ARD hot off the press ( memento from August 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Book edition
- Jenny Erpenbeck: Dictionary . Eichborn, Berlin 2005, ISBN 978-3-8218-0742-3 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Review summary of dictionary Auf: Perlentaucher . Retrieved May 20, 2012.
- ↑ Today in the feature pages. "On your knees, Europeans!" In: Der Spiegel . May 31, 2005. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
- ↑ The dark side of words. Jenny Erpenbeck's "dictionary" . In: Berlin literary criticism. April 7, 2005. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
- ↑ Michael Opitz : When words no longer work. Jenny Erpenbeck: Dictionary. Novel. In: Deutschlandradio Kultur. March 31, 2005. Retrieved May 20, 2012.