NARRATED WORLD – A Literary History of the Present, 1989 to Today

The present reflected in literature. Steffen Martus’ grand epochal portrait.

Literature is not only a mirror of society but also part of the developments and upheavals that seem to be accelerating. In 1989, on Berlin's Alexanderplatz, Christa Wolf, Heiner Müller, and others discussed grand visions of the future, but soon utopia gives way to ironic play, and labels like "pop literature" replace moral authorities. Authors like Christian Kracht stylize themselves as hedonistic bohemians and embody a new economic spirit, reflected in the literature. By the time Amazon tests all the possibilities of digital capitalism with books, literature has entered a new era.

Steffen Martus provides a panorama of German literature since 1989 – from major scandals involving Handke and Walser, to writing in the internet age and the latest generation of authors addressing issues like migration, identity, and classism with a new seriousness. He highlights the diversity of literature and reveals what it means for a society’s self-understanding, and what it tells us about our present.

“A fascinating panorama ... remarkably modern and dynamic, a century appears in motion and conflict, in constant communication.” Die Zeit on Aufklärung