Die Ausgesperrten
Encyclopedia
Wonderful, Wonderful Times (German
: Die Ausgesperrten) is a novel by Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek
, published in 1980 by Rowohlt Verlag. It was Jelinek's fifth book. An English version, translated by Michael Hulse
, was released in 1990 by Serpent's Tail
. A film adaptation of the novel was released in 1982.
The novel follows a group of four Viennese
teens during the 1950s as they violently engage with the previous generation's Post-World War II legacy. The novel does not use traditional chapter demarcations and focuses largely on the internal thoughts of the characters.
The book also forms the basis of a 1982 made-for-television film.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Die Ausgesperrten) is a novel by Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004 for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that, with extraordinary linguistic zeal, reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power."-...
, published in 1980 by Rowohlt Verlag. It was Jelinek's fifth book. An English version, translated by Michael Hulse
Michael Hulse
Michael Hulse is an English translator, critic, and poet.-Life and Works:Hulse has translated over sixty books from the German, among them works by Goethe, Rilke, and Jakob Wassermann. He is nowadays most familiar as the translator of three of W. G. Sebald's books: The Emigrants, The Rings of...
, was released in 1990 by Serpent's Tail
Serpent's Tail
Serpent's Tail is a British independent publishing firm founded in 1986 by Pete Ayrton. It is notable for its translated works, particularly European crime fiction, and is the British publisher of Elfriede Jelinek and Lionel Shriver...
. A film adaptation of the novel was released in 1982.
The novel follows a group of four Viennese
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
teens during the 1950s as they violently engage with the previous generation's Post-World War II legacy. The novel does not use traditional chapter demarcations and focuses largely on the internal thoughts of the characters.
The book also forms the basis of a 1982 made-for-television film.
Major characters
- Rainer Maria Witkowski: The 18-year-old protagonist of the book. He is a gymnasiumGymnasium (school)A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
student and the twin of Anna Witkowski. - Anna Witkowski: The 18-year-old twin of Rainer Witkowski. She is also a gymnasium student and a pianist.
- Hans Sepp: A 20-something mechanic.
- Sophie Pachhofen: An 18-year-old rich, athletic gymnasium student.
Minor characters
- Otto Witkowski: The father of Anna and Rainer, once a SSSchutzstaffelThe Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
officer and now an amputee. - Margarethe Witkowski: The mother of Anna and Rainer.
- Ms. Sepp: The mother of Hans and a fervent CommunistCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. - Gerhard Schweiger: A gymnasium student with Anna, Rainer, and Sophie.
External Links
- Die Ausgesperrten at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...