Der Turm: Geschichte aus einem versunkenen Land by Uwe Tellkamp

Abstract

Ingo Schulze. Adam und Evelyn. Ber lin. Berlin Verlag. 2008. 314 pages. 18. isbn978-3-8270-0810-7 Ingo Schulze, born in Dresden in 1962, has established himself as one of Germany's most critically acclaimed prose writers. His literary works often deal with the complex personal and social situations inGer many afterunification in 1990, and indeed his latestmasterpiece, Adam und Evelyn, could also be considered a Wende novel, but that would over look Schulze's crafty narrative style, his ability to capture emotions and develop characters, and his gift for constructing authentic dialogues. The novel begins in the tumul tuous summer of 1989with Eastern Europe in flux. Adam, a dress design er inEast Germany, is at peace with his lifedespite the limitationsbehind the Iron Curtain. His girl friend, Evelyn, desires more, especially the chance to study and travel.When she catches Adam in a compromis ingposition with one of his clients, she decides toend theirrelationship and travel toHungary with a friend, Simone, and her cousin, Michael, who is fromWest Germany. This sets offa series of tragically comical events and encounters with strang ers, old friends, border guards, and bureaucrats, all ofwhich is set again the backdrop of the growing pub lic dissatisfaction with and protests against thedictatorship of theGDR. The story is ultimately about Adam's pursuit of Evelyn and the others toLake Ballaton inHungary, Austria, and finally West Germany, with thehope ofwinning her back; however, Adam und Evelyn captures readers' attention with Schulze's attention to the Zeitgeist, feelings of uncertainty, and possibilities of change during late summer and autumn 1989 for East Germans. Evelyn is simultaneously attracted by the promise of freedom West Germany offers and torn by leav ing her country;Adam prefers his life in the East yet is tempted by Evelyn, who desires the "paradise" of the West. With biblical references and allegories, Schulze constructs a modern version about the expul sion from theGarden of Eden. After arriving inBavaria, both Adam and Evelyn experience problems adapt ing to theirnew lifewhere every thing is different.Adam denounces the money-driven, consumer society and yearns forhis everyday life in the East, even though that lifeno longer exists because of the peace ful revolution. Evelyn, despite her incessant doubts about herself and her relationshipwith Adam, perse veres. Only after she reveals she's pregnant does Adam compose him selfand begin toestablish a new life, indeed identity,forhimself and his family. With itssympathetic charac ters in confusing and volatile situa tions and attention to subtle, histori cal detail, it isno surprise that Adam undEvelynhas been overwhelmingly praised byGerman critics. Gregory H. Wolf North CentralCollege Uwe Tellkamp.Der Turm: Geschichte aus einem versunkenen Land. Frank furt am Main. Suhrkamp. 2008. 976 pages. 24.80. isbn978-3-518-42020-1 The 2008 winner of the presti gious German Book Prize is Uwe Tellkamp for his third novel, Der Turm: Geschichte aus einem versunk enen Land (The tower: Story froma vanished land). It is a monumental and originalwork: 976 pages of com pelling prose, portraying in rich lan guage and great detail thefinalyears and dissolution of East Germany SCI _ and theworld of its intellectual and professional elite. The book's title refers to the crumbling villa district of Dresden inwhich much of the novel is set. Allegorically, "the tower" can also be seen as an ivory tower in which the main characters of thenovel live; all the scenes set there are redolent of a world of frayed elegance and former wealth and privilege, remi niscent of Thomas Mann's Budden brooks and an early-twentieth-cen turyway of life.Though the tower district seems a safe haven, danger is never far away. The novel's main characters are Christian Hoffmann, an erudite teenager who intends to become a doctor like his father,Richard (also an importantfigurein thenovel) and Christian's uncle Meno, an editor of elegant volumes that seem surpris inglyun-East German inquality, but despite his apparent unworldliness he knows how to thrivewithin the socialist system. These intellectuals do not stand up to theEast German systemwith acts ofdefiance; instead they resist subversively by cultivat ing an elegant and refined existence IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM 70 1 World Literature Today ^^^J ANNA WINGER...