Description: Uwe Johnson (1934-1984) is the author of Jahrestage, a four-volume novel, which Die Zeit has placed on its list of the one hundred great books in world literature. He has been called «the author of the two Germanies» because in his books Mutmassungen über Jakob, Das dritte Buch über Achim, and Zwei Ansichten he gives an unprejudiced view of life on both sides of the border. This study explores the basic theme in Johnson's work, the confrontation between the individual who needs to maintain the integrity of his selfhood and the sociopolitical circumstances surrounding the individual which demand conformity to their particular standards, a theme of significance not only for Germany but for all countries in this century and, without doubt, the next.
Review Quotes: «Fickert is to be commended for his critical and independent point of view, which is well suited as a basis for discussion and can also be used in literature courses.» (Heinz D. Osterle, The German Quarterly)
«The title alone makes the Johnson scholar sit up and take notice, because it is a succinct formulation of Uwe Johnson's political stance. Too many readers and scholars have seen in Johnson a disappointed leftist who, despite his disappointment, remained on the left of the political spectrum to the end of his lamentably short life. Kurt Fickert has abviously read Johnson's work more closely than most of those previous readers, and what merges as the main argument of his study is right on target.» (Liselotte M. Davis, Germanic Notes)