The future of German literature, like the future of united Germany, is a fascinating and vigorously debated question. In this first English-language study on the subject, Keith Bullivant analyses the main aspects of German literature since 1945 from the perspective of the 1990s. He pays particular attention to the periodisation of the literature, the major developments in the 1980s, the social role of writers as intellectuals, and the treatment of the 'German Question'.

This volume provides an excellent introduction to the modern and contemporary novel in German-speaking countries and the work of novelists such as Gunter Grass, Heinrich Boll, Martin Walser and Christa Wolf."

Analyzes the rich body of contemporary German novels and provides fresh insights into a number of particularly controversial works.

Examines the works of contemporary German writers and the changing contexts of German literature from the 1960s to the 1970s.