Die Kunst der Einfachheit: Standortbestimmungen in der deutschen Gegenwartsliteratur: Judith Hermann–Peter Stamm–Robert Seethaler by Nadine Wisotzki

Abstract

Reviewed by: Die Kunst der Einfachheit: Standortbestimmungen in der deutschen Gegenwartsliteratur: Judith Hermann–Peter Stamm–Robert Seethaler by Nadine Wisotzki Julie Winter Nadine Wisotzki, Die Kunst der Einfachheit: Standortbestimmungen in der deutschen Gegenwartsliteratur: Judith Hermann–Peter Stamm–Robert Seethaler. Gegenwartsliteratur 10. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, 2021. 226 pp. "Heute ist vieles komplex, so komplex, dass wir uns zunehmend nach Einfachheit sehnen" (9). With these words, Nadine Wisotzki takes on the [End Page 97] daunting task of attempting to define the concept of "Einfachheit," especially in the context of literature, and illuminating certain trends among modern German writers. I will not translate the word Einfachheit here because it implies more than the idea of "simplicity" in literature. What is meant may be closer to "minimalism," but since the author deals with the concept in several different contexts, it is probably best to avoid using a translated term. The scale of the project quickly becomes clear in this two-part book: the first three chapters grapple with exactly what Einfachheit is—generally and in literature—and outline how researchers and critics have attempted to treat it systematically as a literary concept, while the second part focuses on its manifestation in the novels and short stories of Judith Hermann, Peter Stamm, and Robert Seethaler. From the early twentieth century on, Wisotzki maintains, there has been a strong longing for Einfachheit in Western culture. Here the word "simplicity" is appropriate, as are the terms "simple," "functional," "ease of use," and indeed "harmony." As life feels ever more complex and fast-paced, people increasingly think about how to make it simpler and how to return to a more "natural" way of living. Technology, architecture, and lifestyle choices all reflect this longing. The goal of the producers of Apple computers, for example, is to offer complex technology in sleek machines and to make the experience of using them "friendly." Striving for simplicity is not limited to technology; the Bauhaus movement is well known for its focus on simplicity and functionality in architecture, art, furniture, and many other everyday consumer products. Furthermore, books abound that attempt to teach us how to lead simpler, more pared-down lives, and the idea of reducing complexity has been present in non-Western societies as well, such as in Japanese culture, for many centuries. But how does this longing for a simpler way of living manifest itself as a literary concept? To answer this question, Wisotzki turns her attention to the history of the concept of Einfachheit. Attempts to chronicle the history of the term have been so broad and used in so many different contexts that it is difficult to convey a comprehensible history of the concept. Nevertheless, the author provides what may be seen as a type of Forschungsbericht before arriving at a working definition of Einfachheit in literature. As noted above, the term has to do with minimalism in storytelling. Minimalism is not a new phenomenon; however, it has received special emphasis starting in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. American authors Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway, and [End Page 98] Raymond Carver adhered to a kind of minimalism, a concept summed up by Hemingway in his thought that "[y]ou could omit anything if you knew that you omitted, and the omitted part would strengthen the story and make people feel something more than they understood" (69). The section on the minimalist movement in twentieth-century American writers is illuminating and builds a bridge into the second part of the book, in which Wisotzki presents and discusses characteristics of minimalism in the writings of Hermann, Stamm, and Seethaler, featured in the book's subtitle. Hermann's Aller Liebe Anfang, Stamm's Ungefähre Landschaft, and Seethaler's Ein ganzes Leben are among the eighteen texts described and analyzed in detail. In Hermann's Aller Liebe Anfang, for example, Wisotzki illustrates how the novelist relays the story "mit sprachlicher Knappheit und einer überschaubaren Figurenzahl" (101). In addition, insights from the authors themselves reveal more about the minimalist nature of their works. Hermann recounts a time when she worked at a newspaper in New York as "schnell, intensiv und zugleich kurzlebig, flüchtig" (94), adjectives that also characterize her...