Devotion (novella)
![]() First edition | |
Author | Botho Strauß |
---|---|
Original title | Die Widmung |
Translator | Sophie Wilkins |
Country | West Germany |
Language | German |
Publisher | Carl Hanser Verlag |
Publication date | 1977 |
Published in English | 1979 |
Pages | 144 |
ISBN | 978-3-446-12415-8 |
Devotion (German: Die Widmung) is a 1977 novella by the German writer Botho Strauß. It tells the story of a Berlin bookseller in his early 30s who is abandoned by his girlfriend, isolates himself and begins to write literature, convinced that the girlfriend will return.
Publication[]
The book was published by Carl Hanser Verlag in 1977. It appeared in English in 1979, translated by Sophie Wilkins and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.[1] Northwestern University Press released a new edition in 1995 as part of its Hydra Books series.[2]
Reception[]
Lore Dickstein of the Saturday Review described the book as "a brilliant, hard-edged analysis of the act of writing". Dickstein wrote, "The spare abstract quality of Strauss's language is the reflection of his subject: the isolation of the self/artist in a world where no one really listens. While some readers will prefer the more richly furnished world of a novelist like V.S. Naipaul, this book by Botho Strauss is like a sculpture by Giacometti—clean, pared-down, and without a shred of unnecessary flesh."[3]
References[]
- ^ "Devotion (Book, 1979)". WorldCat. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
- ^ "Devotion (Book, 1995)". WorldCat. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
- ^ Dickstein, Lore (1979-07-21). "Books in Brief". Saturday Review. p. 50. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
Further reading[]
- Limmer, Wolfgang (1977-11-28). "Flitterwochen einer Trennung". Der Spiegel (in German).
External links[]
- German publicity page (in German)
- American publicity page
- 1977 novels
- 20th-century German novels
- German novellas
- German-language novels
- Works by Botho Strauß