Es waren Habichte in der Luft was Siegfried Lenz’s first novel. Published in 1951, it shows his emerging narrative talent. The reader perceives early signs of Lenz’s narrative mastery -- artistic quality, fine powers of observation, a critical view, clarity, vividness, a graphic style, uncompromising directness, and unsparing openness. The novel is a multi-perspective narrative -- it is not restricted to just one main character’s point of view and the attention shifts between different male and female characters. The third-person narrator does not show particular sympathy for any one character in the novel; he neither judges nor condemns their actions and reflections. Since the storytelling position is …
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Citation: Schweissinger, Marc J.. "Es waren Habichte in der Luft". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 January 2018 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38820, accessed 24 November 2024.]
