Trilogy of passions: Urs Widmer's domestic novels „Der Geliebte der Mutter“ (“My Mother's Lover”), „Das Buch des Vaters” and „Ein Leben als Zwerg” Cover Image

Trilogie der Leidenschaften: zu Urs Widmers Familienromanen „Der Geliebte der Mutter“, „Das Buch des Vaters“ und „Ein Leben als Zwerg“
Trilogy of passions: Urs Widmer's domestic novels „Der Geliebte der Mutter“ (“My Mother's Lover”), „Das Buch des Vaters” and „Ein Leben als Zwerg”

Author(s): Karolina Matuszewska
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego

Summary/Abstract: The article was dedicated to three novels by Swiss author Urs Widmer: „Der Geliebte der Mutter“ (“My Mother's Lover”), Das Buch des Voters (“My Father's Book”) and “Ein Leben als Zwerg” (“Life as a Dwarf”), which - although they could also be read separately - form a family trilogy because all three depict the lives of the members of the same Swiss Family. However, their diverse passions are in the foreground and have a decisive influence over the life of the title characters. The books can also be referred as a 'trilogy of passions'. The article characterize precisely these passions as well as their negative or positive impact on the protagonists. At the same time, it refers to a variety of works of music and literature which relates and reflects each of those main passions in different ways. On the one hand, we consider the autobiographical background of the first two novels. On the other hand, the importance of fiction is highlighted in the third novel and was conceived as a fitting counterpart to the two earlier novels.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 23
  • Page Range: 139-157
  • Page Count: 19
  • Language: German