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Friday, May 14, 2010

Der Mann im Strom

Immer noch im Bestreben meine mangelnden Kenntnisse deutscher Literatur aufzumöbeln, bin ich dabei Klassiker aus der Bibliothek meines verstorbenen Großvaters gerettet abzuarbeiten. Heute: Siegfried Lenz Der Mann im Strom. Zeitlich durchaus mit Bölls Brot der frühen Jahre vergleichbar kritisiert auch Lenz die neue, schöne bundesrepublikanische Werbe- und Konsumgesellschaft. Seine Kritik wir aber klar gegenüber der tragischen Geschichte seines Helden zurückgestellt.

Dieser, der Held und Taucher Hinrichs, ist ein älterer Mann, zu alt um in seinem angestammten, schwierigen Beruf noch Arbeit zu finden, welcher an der neuen ihn umgebenden Welt nicht teilnehmen will, aber noch viel mehr ihren korrumpierenden Einfluss auf die Jugend beklagt, welchen es allen "heute nicht schnell genug [geht], sie wollen nicht lernen, sondern gleich etwas sein und eine menge Geld verdienen." Nein, eigentlich ist es gar nicht klar, ob Hinrichs die Gesellschaft wegen dieses Mißstandes anschuldigt oder ob er ihn nicht vielmehr der Jugend als solcher ankreidet. "[Sie glauben] wer weiß was wert zu sein. Aber wieviel man wert ist, das kann man nicht selbst bestimmen, auch nicht, wenn man ein Motorrad fährt oder ein Radio mit sich herumschleppt oder diese feinen, wattierten Jacketts trägt. Was einer wert ist, das zeigt sich bei anderer Gegebenheit."

Hinrichs, alleinerziehender Vater, ohne daß man weiß, wo seine Frau wäre, einer schwangeren und alleingelassenen Tocher, ist also der tragische, sympathieheischende (und -erhaltende) Held dieser Geschichte, ein konservativer Held ("Die von den Ämtern und der Polizei und der Kirche reißen sich eher ein Bein aus, als daß sie etwas auf diese Burschen kommen lassen. Die glauben immer noch, daß sie mit berufsmäßiger Güte heilen können"), welches Bild noch durch die wiederholte Beschreibung eines Bismarckdenkmales verstärkt wird. Trotzdem ist Hinrichs natürlich ein guter Mann und in seiner Hilflosigkeit und Güte ein Symbol von Größe. Er wird sicherlich nie messbaren Erfolg erringen, aber er wird mit sich selber zufrieden sein können.

Der Mann im Strom ist ein wirklich schönes, nostalgisches Buch. Die einzige Frage, die sich dem heutigen Leser stellt ist nach der Motivation des Autors. Lenz, als Autor der Deutschstunde dürfte kaum der Verherrlichung des Nazismus bezichtigt werden, aber es fällt doch auf in diesem Roman, wie der Hauptdarsteller (und andere Männer seines Alters) die Jugend sowie die moderne Welt von einer moralischen Warte aus kritisieren. Sind dies die nicht die gleichen Männer, die ihre Jugend einem faschistischen, verbrecherischen Regime schenkten? Warum werden bei aller Nostalgie zwar die Kriegsschäden erwähnt, wird Bismarck genannt und auf die direkte Nachkriegszeit eingegangen, ohne daß der Krieg als solcher thematisiert wird? Das Buch als solches ist kaum zu kritisieren, weder in seinen moralischen Positionen (die oben zitierte Erziehungstheorie wohl ausgenommen) noch in seiner Kritik der Konsum- und Arbeitsgesellschaft, aber es erscheint perfide all dies zu tun, ohne die Verbrechen eben jener Generation von Männern anzusprechen, welche sich nun über die Jugend echauffieren.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Misconceptions about North Rhine-Westphalia

Outside of Germany the important conservative voter loss in North Rhine Westphalia is most often ascribed to the German populace's distaste over the aid to Greece (see The New York Times, Le Monde, or even academics such as Stephen Walt). This kind of assessment can at best be described as simplistic, at worst it is simply wrong, an impression which is easily be confirmed by a quick look at the polls.

According to the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen (the most important German poll institute) 42% of respondents considered employment the most important subject of these elections, while an astonishing 41% were of the opinion that the education system were the most important issue. Finally, the third-most often named problematic was the financial situation of local communes (more than twice removed from the European level) with 17%.

When asked to to estimate the importance of specific topics more than 75% considered education policy to be relevant. Only then followed the Greek crisis with 54% believing it to be an important topic. Lastly, 38% deemed the conservative party's donation affairs to be truly relevant.

The importance of education policy helped the social democrats who were seen as more competent in this matter (34% vs 27% for the conservatives) and allowed them to claim 140,000 voters from the CDU. In general, the elections were decided by those not voting more than anyone else though. The CDU lost 330,000 voters who simply didn't show up and an additional 110,000 voting for parties without any chance of entering the parliament.

To sum up, it is far from certain how important the German loans to Greece were in these elections. Arguably, it is not even certain whether their impact was positive or negative in the first place. After all 58% of respondents are satisfied with Merkel's role in the crisis and only 32% are not content with her. On the other hand, 48% are not convinced by the current measures (before Sunday night) against the crisis with only 40% being supportive. Yet, maybe most importantly, 72% of respondents usually voting for the CDU are content with how Germany has handled the crisis most recently.

While the German populist media has been rallying for months against money being spent on the lying and cheating Greeks, it is far from established how this has impacted elections in North Rhine Westphalia. What can be said with certainty is that it was not the most important issue of these elections and that international media playing it up are offering a misguided analysis.

Reservation Blues

Sherman Alexie's Reservation Blues manages to combine the blues (Robert Johnson is one of the characters!), native americans (most of the action takes place on the Spokane indian reservation where the author was born), basketball and is harshly sarcastic in its portrayal of (American) society. The book might thus be a perfect example of the best ingredients not always leading to an optimal result - or in other words the whole in this case is not better than its parts.

Why that is the case I am a bit at loss to say. Maybe Alexie's characters lack in depth, his deep and philosophical reflections are just a tad too superficial and, especially, predictable in their morals. Maybe I am just not a big fan of this trend in current literature which replaces reflection with references to cultural or historical figures who are supposed to hint at and incarnate greater ideas (General Sheridan and Robert Johnson in this case). While that usually works and is quite suitable for a shorter format (whether an essay or a short story) I feel it leaves much to be desired in the novel form.

Reading up on Alexie I gathered the impression that his first bookThe Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, a collection of short stories, was far better received and I can see why. As stated above, his writing seems well-suited to make a few quick-witted points, a few revealing comparisons, but it doesn't convert well into a lengthy book.

Sunday, May 09, 2010

Allah n'est pas obligé

Le Monde avait un nombre des articles sur la littérature post-coloniale il y a peu de temps suivi par le New York Times réclamant que les français déploraient sans raison la disparition du français vu que la langue reste bien vivant et est parlée aujourd'hui par plus des gens hors de France que en métropole. Alors, j'ai ajouté quelques auteurs francophones mais pas français sur ma liste de bouquins mal famé et déjà beaucoup trop longue. Pour une fois j'ai réussi à lire un de ces livres assez vite.

Allah n'est pas obligé d'Ahmadou Kourouma alors. Auteur ivoirien, tirailleur sénégalais en Indochine (sans être du Sénégal?!), il fait ses études à Lyon seulement pour rejoindre son pays natal peu après. Il est emprisonné et vit la plupart de sa vie en exil (Algérie, Cameroun, Togo). Son livre prend la perspective d'un enfant-soldat et raconte d'une façon picaresque ses expériences en Liberia pendant sa guerre civile (ou plutôt son massacre constant des civils) des années 90. Le texte est à la fois fascinant et dégoutant (dans la nonchalance de la violence) au même temps qu'il ne m'a pas convaincu tout à fait littérairement.

Le narrateur et héros parle (parce que c'est une histoire racontée à la Huckleberry Finn) avec l'aide des plusieurs dictionnaires dans un mélange du patois et du français. Cela est un atout a priori mais devient fatiguant quand le lecteur se fait expliqué trop de fois la signifiance de certains expressions africaines (walahé, faforo). Cette tendance de répétition malheureusement a été une constante du livre en général avec certains motifs, images et situations revenant très souvent. Ce qui est sans doute une façon de souligner leur importance, de mieux faire comprendre le lecteurs, mais j'ai trouvé que cela affecte la lisibilité du bouquin.

Finalement, les personnages restent des stock characters (des personnages sans caractère? sans profondeur? je ne sais pas comment traduire ce terme technique en français) ce qui je trouve déplorable et contre même l'idée d'un roman. J'ai la suspicion que Kourouma a écrit le livre avec des idée précises qui sont d'attirer des lecteurs adolescents peu attirés par des livres qui intellectualisent trop et de démontrer la violence et l'inutilité de ces conflits africaines. Malheureusement cela semble avoir un coût littéraire.

Au même temps, je voudrais bien lire un de les plus anciens livres de Kourouma pour voir si cette théorie tient surtout parce que j'avais l'impression que le livre montre plus de potentiels qu'il ne remplit finalement.

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Picking on Jean-François Copé

Jean-François (France's Nancy Pelosi if you want, but on the conservative side) wrote an op-ed for yesterday's NY Times on his majority's project to outlaw the burqa in France. I am, of course, of the opinion that all of this is nothing but mere posturing of a French conservative party hanging in the ropes after the results of the recent regional elections. Yet, apart from this painfully obvious populist position-taking, Copé's argument is quite simply fallacious and easy to pick apart. Indulge me...

The ban would apply to the full-body veil known as the burqa or niqab [only]. This is not an article of clothing — it is a mask, a mask worn at all times, making identification or participation in economic and social life virtually impossible.
Does that mean the French want to outlaw the non-participation in economic and social life? While a case can of course be made (and I would be an adherent) that it is a shame some people refuse to participate in economic and social life, that doesn't mean that one can forbid it. What else do, for example, monks do? Or true hippies (the three that still exist), or any kind of guru? Quite obviously the choice to not truly partake in societal interaction cannot be made punishable by law unless one would want to return to some kind of authoritarian even fascist regime (which I am far from implying Copé is arguing for).

This face covering poses a serious safety problem at a time when security cameras play an important role in the protection of public order. An armed robbery recently committed in the Paris suburbs by criminals dressed in burqas provided an unfortunate confirmation of this fact. As a mayor, I cannot guarantee the protection of the residents for whom I am responsible if masked people are allowed to run about.
The old security argument. The right reclaiming its old fallback electoral argument. Apparently, this burqa-abetted bank robbery really took place providing fodder for an amusing argument if nothing else. Let's see, in a nation of over 60 million inhabitants there has been one single (lets make it two or three, just to be on the safe side) case of the burqa facilitating crime. Let's outlaw it! The world isn't safe anymore! I wonder whether Copé would argue for the banning of clowns' masks if that same robbery had been led by Bozo the Clown.

the increase in women wearing the niqab
I've been living in Paris on and off for mor than two years now and during all that time I saw exactly one woman wearing a niqab, yesterday. And I got so excited that I tried to follow her into the subway in order to spy on how she would interact with people. But don't take only my word for it, according to the Minister of the Interior between 400 and 2,000 women wear a burqa, the police - before this whole discussion really started taking off - estimated the number to be 367. Remember that France has around 62 million inhabitants of which anywhere between 3.7 and 5.5 are muslim. Let me get my calculator....basically, between 0.000005919% and 0.000032258% of French people wear burqas and between 0.000066727% and 0.000540541% of all French Muslims. Quite apparently this is a massive problem. But then Mister Copé is worried about the increase in the niqab's popularity. I have no idea where he gets that perceived increase from though and quite honestly I don't think he does either. The two studies after all don't really contradict each other and in any case do not prove an aggravation of the situation, but rather differing measuring methods.

How can you establish a relationship with a person who, by hiding a smile or a glance — those universal signs of our common humanity — refuses to exist in the eyes of others? [...] the niqab and burqa represent a refusal to exist as a person in the eyes of others. The person who wears one is no longer identifiable; she is a shadow among others, lacking individuality, avoiding responsibility.
He is right of course this is a problem. But again, see above, how can you outlaw antisocial behavior? How can you force people to develop individuality? What does that even mean, individuality? Owning an iPhone or a Blackberry, going to work in a suit, adhering to society's trends is that individuality? Finally, how can the law proscribe responsibility? Outlaw punks (not that France has many of these, but I bet there are at least as many as women wearing burqas) and harmless, homeless, or jobless, drunks? How about rich youngsters, living off their parents' money, shirking responsibility and the search for some kind of a societal relevant life, partying their life away? Does Copé want to punish these people as well?

banning the veil in the street is aimed at no particular religion and stigmatizes no particular community
Yeah....sure...

Greece and the Euro are failing, the crisis and high unemployment are still ever present, the retirement reform is only beginning to get discussed in policy circles. I wish politicians, and the public, would start concentrating on things that really matter for a change...

Saturday, May 01, 2010

Nine Stories

Few will not know J.D. Salinger and his best-selling teenage-angst novel The Catcher in the Ray, his recent death - prompting a massive influx of stories on his reclusive lifestyle, the fact that he simply disappeared as a public figure after having published one of the American novels (Huckleberry Finn, maybe The Great Gatsby, definitely Absalom, Absalom...well, as far as I am concerned anyway) - has assuredly reminded everyone of him. I had, by coincidence, bought his collection of (long) short stories, Nine Stories, a few months before his death and finally got around to reading it some days ago.

I find extremely difficult, if not impossible, to criticize a collection of short stories which are little tied to each other in terms of content even in their date of publication (and maybe when they were written?). Thus, I shall not even try. Let it suffice to say that Nine Stories confirms Salinger's presence as a truly great writer. His stories, devoid of morale, rhyme, or reason on the surface, are full of wonder, posing question after question without offering many answers (which is the not the task of a writer anyway as far as I am concerned), for the attentive reader willing to immerse himself into their tightly-knit web of metaphor and hidden meaning. As selfish as it may be, I hope whoever inherited his papers will go ahead and publish some of what he kept hidden during his lifetime.