Grenzlandroman ohne Nationalismus: «Der himmelblaue Wagen» von Hans Multerer
Borderland novel without nationalism: «Der himmelblaue Wagen» by Hans Multerer

Summary/Abstract: This paper analyses the literary work of Hans Multerer, in particular the novel «Der himmelblaue Wagen», which was published in an atmosphere of heightened nationalism in the 1930s in Czechoslovakia. Multerer was one of the German-language authors of the Bohemian Forest, who in their prose and plays portrayed the everyday lives of simple people living in the mountains in the border region between Bavaria and Bohemia. In contrast to the typical borderland novels from the border regions of Bohemia, «Der himmelblaue Wagen» concentrates not on the national conflicts between German and Czechs but on different forms of frontier-crossing, literally and above all metaphorically. The existential dimension of modern life is powerfully expressed in the dialogues of the main characters and in the inner monologue of the main protagonist, but also in descriptions of the landscapes and human activity.

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