Speaker
Description
Exogenous and endogenous crises, as anthropological constants, represent foundational elements of literature. Authors possess a wide range of narrative strategies through which such crises can be articulated and shaped. This paper explores how contemporary Western and Eastern European literature narratively constructs experiences of crisis, including political instability, war, migration, and ecological disaster. By analyzing selected novels—Seven Leaps from the Edge of the World [Sieben Springe vom Rand der Welt] by Ulrike Draesner (2014), Amadoka-Epos by Sophia Andruchowytsch (2025), and Vilnius Poker by Ričardas Gavelis (2025)—from both regions published since the early 21st century, the study investigates how narrative strategies—such as unreliable narration (Nünning 2005), and metalepsis (Hanebek 2017)—shape the representation of crisis and resilience. It examines differences and overlaps in how Western and Eastern European authors conceptualize trauma, agency, and collective memory in post-crisis societies. The analysis reveals how literature serves as a vital space for negotiating identity, ethics, and belonging in an era marked by ongoing uncertainty.
| Keywords | crisis, contemporary Western and Eastern European literature, unreliable narration, metalepsis |
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| ksenia.kuzminykh@uni-goettingen.de |