Marcel Beyer, Spione [Spies]

Hannelore G. Mundt (University of Wyoming)

Ed. by Jennifer Marston William, Purdue University
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 2000

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

Marcel Beyer's third novel Spione [Spies, 2000] is preceded by a few lines from Astrid Lindgren's children's book The Tomten [Tomte Tummetott, 1960] in which children are visited by a silent, old troll named Tomten during winter nights while they are asleep. Only small footprints in the snow attest to his existence. The children's wish to actually see and spy upon this magical creature remains unfulfilled since they never wake up when he appears. They can only imagine and dream about him. Beyer's novel also introduces children who want to gain knowledge about a person they have never met, namely their grandmother, who died in the late 1950s. Since neither a picture of her nor …

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2457 words

Citation: Mundt, Hannelore G.. "Spione". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 January 2010 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=28515, accessed 16 April 2024.]

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