The Merowingians or The Total Family (German: Die Merowinger oder Die totale Familie) is a 1962 novel by the Austrian writer Heimito von Doderer. It interweaves a contemporary family with the medieval Merovingian dynasty and is about a man who tries to create "the total family" by marrying his step-family members.[1][2][3] In 2018, Die Welt described the novel as "by far the funniest and strangest in the oeuvre of this highly funny and most strange author".[4]
 | |
| Author | Heimito von Doderer |
|---|---|
| Original title | Die Merowinger |
| Translator | Vinal Binner |
| Language | German |
| Publisher | Biederstein Verlag |
Publication date | 1962 |
| Publication place | Germany |
Published in English | 1996 |
| Pages | 368 |
The book was adapted into the 1981 film Die totale Familie.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Packt ihn und zwackt ihn". Der Spiegel (in German). 29 January 1963. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ "Die Merowinger oder Die totale Familie" (in German). ORF. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ Docherty, Vincent John (1984). The reception of Heimito von Doderer as exemplified by the critics' response to Ein Mord den jeder Bericht and Die Merowinger (PhD). University of Glasgow. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
- ^ Scheck, Denis (28 February 2018). "Heimito von Doderer: „Die Merowinger"". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ "Die totale Familie". Filmarchiv Austria. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
Further reading
edit- "Der Theaterdichter Doderer, die Inflation der Zufälle und das Traktat »Sexualität und totaler Staat« als Gestaltungsquelle in Die Merowinger" (in German). Germanistik Online Datenbank.