Melange of Memories. Negotiating Transcultural Identities in Eva Menasse’sVienna

Abstract

In this essay it is my aim to explore the reinvention of the Jewish‐Austrian past in Eva Menasse’s novelVienna(2005). Like many other second‐ and third‐generation Jewish writers, she thematizes the silence of her family concerning the Shoah, the re‐emergence of memory work in the 1980s, and the problems of transgenerational dialogue. Instead of providing coherent stories and stable identities, the novel presents a blend of memories of a multi‐ethnic family. In so doing, the narrative not only sheds light on a silenced past but also reveals its transnational links and transcultural mixtures. By challenging the idea of cultural singularity, the novel problematizes the connection between Jewishness and hybridity. Furthermore, the shifting meanings of family and home and the emphasis on storytelling in Menasse’s novel outline a performative approach to the past as a contested area.