How German Is It is a novel by Walter Abish

Walter Abish

Walter Abish is an Austrian-American author of experimental novels and short stories.-Biography:Abish was born in Vienna, Austria to Adolph and Frieda . At a young age, his family fled from the Nazis, traveling first to Italy and Nice before settling in Shanghai from 1940 to 1949...

, published in 1980. It received PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the authors of the year's best works of fiction by living American citizens. The winner receives US $15,000 and each of four runners-up receives US $5000. The foundation brings the winner and runners-up to...

in 1981. It is most often classified as a Postmodern work of fiction.

Plot

The Hargenaus were once a noble and revered family. Now the two remaining brothers, the writer Ulrich and the architect Helmut, must console their private pasts with that of their history as a whole. They are getting spied upon, bombs go off in buildings designed by Helmut, and through all this, the reality of what really went on during WWII is slowly uncovered.

Narrative structure

Its narrative structure features inner monologue and different authorial viewpoints by many of the characters. Thus, different issues are addressed from different perspectives. The main protagonist is Ulrich, who is also the primary and most frequent I-narrator.