Reception Imperium (Kracht novel)

1 reception

1.1 critical response
1.2 public debate
1.3 accolades

reception
critical response

rheinische post s literature critic lothar schröder wrote:

it book visions, romantic, german history world war ii—and of written in light, self-ironic tone, every page bright reading pleasure. kracht finds language perhaps 100 years ago, neatly stilted, twirled, charmingly long-winded, witty, humourous. ... 1 should, no, 1 must celebrate kracht—cult writer of faserland , 1979. opportunity read him.

richard kämmerlings wrote in die welt:

in ironic-divine omniscience [kracht] designs historical panorama engelhardt s vision woven in. ... mann, kafka , hermann hesse appear in small episodes incognito, still recognisable (very loosely motivated), others wave fence posts thick ship s masts, such joseph conrad s heart of darkness. @ 1 point italian passenger steamship named pasticcio sails by.

kämmerlings compared imperium marc buhl s novel das paradies des august engelhardt, engelhardt:

kracht more playful, more irreverent, more unconcerned, 1 say: more wild. not evident in how he, formulation in nutshell [in nuce], mischievously asks forgiveness—considering excessive amount of nut aromas story contains in raw state. in plotting, shy of no peddling , no melodramatic turn.

in united states, publishers weekly wrote:

alternately languid , feverish, narrative nutty engelhardt s prized foodstuff. story bounces around in time, shifts in tone philosophical suspenseful slapstick, features cameos peculiar historical figures (such american inventor of vegemite spread), , periodically widens scope consider menacing rise of nazism. though kracht, books have been translated more 25 languages, flaunts research , succumbs overwrought style, inventively captures period s zeitgeist through 1 incurable eccentric.

and huffington post writes:

creepy, unsettling , morbidly funny, imperium takes unlikely subjects of south seas adventure , coconut eating weave satirical spin on ideological extremism.

public debate

a critic der spiegel, georg diez, triggered public debate in german newspapers accusing kracht of propounding racist worldview in imperium. diez wrote of kracht: is, quite simply, bouncer of right-wing thoughts. in example can see how anti-modern, anti-democratic, totalitarian thinking finds way mainstream. these claims subsequently disputed in culture sections of largest german newspapers, including die zeit, die tageszeitung, frankfurter rundschau, der tagesspiegel, die welt , frankfurter allgemeine zeitung. in open letter editor-in-chief of der spiegel, 17 authors criticized diez systematically equating literary figure s utterances , ideas of author. if kind of literary journalism catch on, write, spell end of literary imagination, of fiction, irony, , of free art. letter signed daniel kehlmann, nobel prize winner elfriede jelinek, monika maron, uwe timm , katja lange-müller, among others. kehlmann reckoned kracht has fascination aesthetics of totalitarian states different diez attacked him for.

accolades

the novel awarded wilhelm raabe literature prize of 30,000 euros city of braunschweig. jury described book grotesque genre painting of 20th century. in switzerland awarded 1 of 4 literature prizes of canton of bern. has won 2016 helen , kurt wolff translator s prize, , been longlisted 2017 international dublin literary award.