Read this for my Austrian Literature course. Absolutely loved the magical realism and the characters. Revealed a lot about the Austrian culture post WWII and the generational tradition of silence of Holocaust survivors and their families. Some chapters were brutal (Keysser especially). I was captivated by every chapter and how the characters connected with each other. The theme of identity owns this book and it was an incredible read. So grateful I took this class and got to discuss it for a month.
I read it in english, unfortunately, but I definitely plan to get my hands on the original german version very soon. I will not attempt to describe this novel here. Just a few words:
It is about how the past is silenced by Holocaust-Survivors and how this leads to a crisis in identity with the sons of the families. It is about father-son relationships. Names get changed an awful lot. There is "Mullemann", wrapped in bandages, looking like a mummy, confessing crimes he did not commit.
Oh and yes, it contains references to the brillant movie by Fritz Lang (it is on youtube).