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.
.jpg) First edition | |
| Author | Botho Strauß |
|---|---|
| Original title | Die Widmung |
| Translator | Sophie Wilkins |
| Language | German |
| Publisher | Carl Hanser Verlag |
Publication date | 1977 |
| Publication place | West Germany |
Published in English | 1979 |
| Pages | 144 |
| ISBN | 978-3-446-12415-8 |
Publication
editThe 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
editLore 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
edit- ^ Devotion (Book, 1979). OCLC 4775574. Retrieved 2016-11-29 – via WorldCat.
- ^ Devotion (Book, 1995). OCLC 722859177. Retrieved 2016-11-29 – via WorldCat.
- ^ Dickstein, Lore. "Books in Brief". Saturday Review. p. 50.
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Further reading
edit- Limmer, Wolfgang (1977-11-28). "Flitterwochen einer Trennung". Der Spiegel (in German).
External links
edit- German publicity page (in German)
- American publicity page Archived 2016-11-29 at the Wayback Machine