Bernhard Schlink: Die Enkelin

As part of the “Literatur zur Nacht” (Literature at Night) series, he will read from his novel “Die Enkelin” (The Granddaughter) and then talk to Thomas Thelen, editor-in-chief of the Aachener Zeitung, about the culture of remembrance, homeland, and literary writing in Europe.

What place do human dignity, faith, and justice have in literature? What role do home and foreign lands play in writing? How much memory does Europe need? These questions run like a thread through Schlink's works—from his essays in “Vergewisserungen” (Assurances) and “Erkunden zu Geschichte, Moral, Glaube und Recht” (Explorations of History, Morality, Faith, and Justice) to his novels ‘Abschiedsfarben’ (Colors of Farewell) and “Die Enkelin” (The Granddaughter). The latter deals with the division between East and West, the search for family identity, and the conflict between new right-wing and left-liberal lifestyles.