There is a strain of opinion among foreign students that German literature is often too heavy, too serious, too overtly philosophical. It鈥檚 a little tThere is a strain of opinion among foreign students that German literature is often too heavy, too serious, too overtly philosophical. It鈥檚 a little too simplistic as a generalization, but there are certainly some very good examples that seem to support that. The Golem is one of these. True, the life and culture of the Jewish ghetto in Prague is hardly a humorous topic, but Jurek Becker鈥檚 Jakob der L眉gner managed to find humour in an even darker, more dangerous situation.
It鈥檚 a disturbing and painful tale full of flawed, unattractive characters whose lives overlap into mysticism, myth and fantasy. Our narrator talks of the myth of the Frankenstein like golem, but also himself is at times reminiscent of a golem created by Hillel.
Nowadays, the 鈥渋t was all a dream, or was it?鈥� structure used here is a bit of an overused clich茅, but we need to appreciate that for Meyrink it was something new. Not only that, but his alternative truth is that our narrator is straying into parallel realities that exist alongside ours.
Fascinating, but dark and at times as heavy as the atmosphere of the ghetto he describes. ...more
Is our ability to create and react emotionally and intellectually to stories the one thing that makes really human? As opposed to just a biological coIs our ability to create and react emotionally and intellectually to stories the one thing that makes really human? As opposed to just a biological counterpart of artificial intelligence? Are stories really the most defining factor of our lives and existence? And, with a nod to the title鈥榮 similarity to the famous Barthes essay, are stories created for us or for their readers and the resonance and meaning they each find within a novel.
In this story about an author, with a second story within and around it, we are left in no doubt about the importance of stories. We use them to understand ourselves, to learn new ways to think and to celebrate and preserve our cultures.
Zelu and her android counterpart Ankara are fascinating characters, not perhaps always likable but certainly strong and interesting. The insights to Nigerian American life, customs and thinking are also a highlight. The really outstanding feature of the novel though is the ending. Unexpected, even shocking, while at the same time being provocative enough to leave the reader impressed. ...more
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