Y. TAWADA’S WORKS IN MULTICULTURAL CONTEXT

Abstract

The present paper investigates the stylistic and philosophical-aesthetic features in the works written by Y. Tawada, a contemporary Japanese-German author. The unique position occupied by the author in the literary space leads us to consider her works in the context of multicultural and postcolonial theories. Being stuck between two opposite cultural paradigms and literary traditions — Eastern and Western European — the writer does not fit into either of them. Such a unique position impacts on the author’s view on the problems typical for multicultural literature, such as search for identity, creation of one’s own self in a polyphonic globalized world, cultural dislocation and homelessness experience. In our article particular attention is paid to studying the image of a multicultural writer who is situated at a cultural crossroads and is a nomad in a broadest sense. As a result of the research, it has been found out that development of a new identity takes place in the so-called third or “interstitial space”, where two opposing worldviews meet. Linguistic experiments and unique attitude to universal language codes as a means of intercultural communication are dominant in the author’s writing style. The author is in search of her lost identity. These searches are associated with the searches of the protagonists who suffer from a traumatic experience and go through the loss of their own roots. In the works under analysis the influence of the Japanese literary tradition can be traced. Y. Tawada turns to the genre of monogatari, typical for Eastern literature. In general, the poetic features of the author’s prose are illustrated through examples from the works “Where Europe Begins”, “Suspects on the Night Train” and “Memoirs of a Polar Bear”.