Jenny Erpenbeck, Geschichte vom alten Kind [The Old Child]

Kristy Boney (Central Missouri State University)

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 Jul 1999

Places

Germany (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Story

Resources

Jenny Erpenbeck’s Geschichte vom alten Kind [Story of an Old Child, 1999] relates the story of a young girl who is found on a street with an empty bucket. The origins of the girl are unknown—no one knows her name or her parents, and the girl herself has no memory of her past. She is placed in a children’s home and her life begins, as the book states: “as a blank slate” (9). Though she appears to know more than she lets on, any attempt by any teacher or person to peel back the layers and understand her secrets or her personality fails. After the girl witnesses a sexual encounter between two boys, the narrator reveals that the young girl has letters with advice from her mother such as, “BE NICE, OR ELSE YOU’LL BE STRUC…

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1100 words

Citation: Boney, Kristy. "Geschichte vom alten Kind". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 July 2012 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34652, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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