Thomas Brussig

Ingo Roland Stoehr

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

Born 19 Dec 1965
Activity 1990-ongoing

Places

Born in Germany
Active in Germany

Activities

Primary

Novelist

Resources

Brussig's Works

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When Thomas Brussig's novel

Helden wie wir

[

Heroes like Us

] was published in 1995, it was an instant popular and critical success, as well as a timely contribution to the debate on East Germany's history under communism. The novel's humorous gusto, which was received as fresh and liberating, has remained the author's trademark, as has his penchant for the first-person monologic form and for relying on his East German roots. Like others of Brussig's texts,

Helden wie wir

consists of its protagonist's rant. Klaus Uhltzscht, the protagonist from East Berlin, claims that he caused the Berlin Wall to be opened (with his huge erection, as he explains later in the novel). As a consequence, the protagonist also lays claim on two Nobel prizes: for peace and, on account of his yet unwritten…

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1768 words

Citation: Stoehr, Ingo Roland. "Thomas Brussig". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 March 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12207, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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