Parallel Text: German Short Stories 1

Much maligned in pre-war Germany, the short story enjoyed a creative rebirth in 1945. Initially imported by the Allies, the form also matched perfectly the prevailing mood of irony, objectivity and mistrust of the didactic.

With the original German text running alongside English translations, this collection features stories from eight outstanding post-war authors including Heinrich Böll, Ilse Aichinger and Reinhard Lettau which students will find both educational and engrossing. Böll’s opening story 'Pale Anna' follows a soldier returning home, his situation comparable to that of the writer in the first months of peace: he knows no-one and has few words not linked to painful memories. This poignant narrative is followed by a variety of tales representing the diversity of the time and including satires, explorations of private obsessions and experiments in form and language.

Contents

• Introduction
• PALE ANNA Heinrich Boll translated by Christopher Middleton
• STORY IN REVERSE Ilse Aichinger translated by Christopher Levenson
• THE HOST Hans Bender translated by Roland Hill
• WOMAN DRIVER Gertrud Fussenegger translated by Patrick Bridgwater
• ANTIGONE AND THE GARDEN DWARF Gerd Gaiser translated by Dieter Pevsner
• AT THE TROCADERO Wolfdietrich Schnurre translated by John Cowan
• WHEN POTEMKIN'S COACH WENT BY Reinhard Lettau translated by Marie Surridge
• THITHYPHUTH, OR MY UNCLE'S WAITER Wolfgang Borchert translated by Paul Dinnage
• Biographical Notes on Authors
• Notes on German Texts

First book in the German Penguin Parallel Text series