by Christa Wolf
Prejudices stick – even if they were proven wrong. In my case here, Christa Wolf has the fame to be difficult to read and understand. But I had already read a book of her in 1986 before I was acquainted with these opinions and I liked that book called “Der Störfall” very much. But later I never touched her books again since I was convinced her texts are boring. What a mistake!
She writes a beautiful and inventive German in “Kassandra”, that alone is worth the book. The other timeless aspect is the reinterpretation of the Trojan wars from the point of view of Kassandra. It is a feminine view. But, men!, Don’t worry it is not a feminist one.
Christa Wolf is from the former German “Democratic” Republic, therefore she and other writers used very often the historical or mythological setting to write about the present in order to circumvent censorship. Since nothing is written down explicitly, the text is open to very different interpretations. At the time of publication it could have been interpreted as comment to the arm race between the east and the west. I think the interpretation depends pretty much on the background of the interpreter himself. For example for me, it was obvious that Eumelos represents the almighty secret service in Eastern Germany. Much of reasoning of his actions sounded very familiar. Maybe the pure openness to interpretation is the quality of this novel. You will definitely enjoy it if you now a bit about Homer’s Iliad epic.
She writes a beautiful and inventive German in “Kassandra”, that alone is worth the book. The other timeless aspect is the reinterpretation of the Trojan wars from the point of view of Kassandra. It is a feminine view. But, men!, Don’t worry it is not a feminist one.
Christa Wolf is from the former German “Democratic” Republic, therefore she and other writers used very often the historical or mythological setting to write about the present in order to circumvent censorship. Since nothing is written down explicitly, the text is open to very different interpretations. At the time of publication it could have been interpreted as comment to the arm race between the east and the west. I think the interpretation depends pretty much on the background of the interpreter himself. For example for me, it was obvious that Eumelos represents the almighty secret service in Eastern Germany. Much of reasoning of his actions sounded very familiar. Maybe the pure openness to interpretation is the quality of this novel. You will definitely enjoy it if you now a bit about Homer’s Iliad epic.
Facts:
English title: n/a
Original title: Kassandra
Published: 1983
