The experience of＂The Other＂ has become a common one for people in the 21st century, and yet it continues to be a major problem for everyone involved. Increasingly, however, immigrants and their descendants adjust a...The experience of＂The Other＂ has become a common one for people in the 21st century, and yet it continues to be a major problem for everyone involved. Increasingly, however, immigrants and their descendants adjust and soon participate in and with the new culture（s）. At the same time, those who encounter ＂The Other＂ through the contact with immigrants, have also to adapt, to learn, and to realize considerable changes in themselves in that process. Recently, a new German novelist, Renate Ahrens, has created several major works in which she reflects on this intricate phenomenon typical of our times. The present study might well be the first critical analysis of her last two novels, Zeit der Wahrheit （Time of Truth, 2005） and Fremde Schwestern （Alienated Sisters, 2011）, which prove to be outstanding and first-rate literary treatments of the theme of＂The Other＂ in an intercultural context. As Ahrens illustrates in both novels, each individual carries a heavy baggage imposed on them by the own family history, and so in both cases the confrontation with ＂The Other＂ serves exceedingly well to break open the shell of self-isolation and self-alienation. Love finally overcomes ancient conflicts and paves the way for new integrative forces supporting the formation of the ＂global village＂ we all are really living in.展开更多
文摘The experience of＂The Other＂ has become a common one for people in the 21st century, and yet it continues to be a major problem for everyone involved. Increasingly, however, immigrants and their descendants adjust and soon participate in and with the new culture（s）. At the same time, those who encounter ＂The Other＂ through the contact with immigrants, have also to adapt, to learn, and to realize considerable changes in themselves in that process. Recently, a new German novelist, Renate Ahrens, has created several major works in which she reflects on this intricate phenomenon typical of our times. The present study might well be the first critical analysis of her last two novels, Zeit der Wahrheit （Time of Truth, 2005） and Fremde Schwestern （Alienated Sisters, 2011）, which prove to be outstanding and first-rate literary treatments of the theme of＂The Other＂ in an intercultural context. As Ahrens illustrates in both novels, each individual carries a heavy baggage imposed on them by the own family history, and so in both cases the confrontation with ＂The Other＂ serves exceedingly well to break open the shell of self-isolation and self-alienation. Love finally overcomes ancient conflicts and paves the way for new integrative forces supporting the formation of the ＂global village＂ we all are really living in.
