Daniel Kehlmann, Die Vermessung der Welt [Measuring the World]

Patricia Simpson (Montana State University Bozeman)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 2005

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

Daniel Kehlmann's fifth novel, Die Vermessung der Welt [Measuring the World, 2005] brought the author international fame. The fictional portrayal of Alexander von Humboldt and Carl Friedrich Gauss represents the pinnacle – to date – of Kehlmann's novels. His previous works reveal a preoccupation with great men occupied with capital-letter issues – or perhaps madmen obsessed with the quest for knowledge that may change everything or nothing. Questions of fame, emotional intelligence, and ambition weave in and out of the dominant narratives, as do issues of pedagogy and apprenticeship, male friendship and rivalry, and the ideal in constant negotiation with the real. In Die …

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1030 words

Citation: Simpson, Patricia. "Die Vermessung der Welt". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 August 2007 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21666, accessed 26 November 2024.]

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