The Affirmation of Exile in Contemporary German-Jewish Literature: A Reading of Maxim Biller, Olga Grjasnowa, and Mati Shemoelof

Abstract:The purpose of this essay is to explore a unique kind of Jewish diasporism in contemporary German-Jewish literature. As in all forms of diasporism, the German-Jewish authors under consideration here confirm the necessity of living in exile. Unlike most other thinkers, who affirm exile for political or religious reasons, the diasporism discussed here is existential and personal. This form of diasporism, it is argued, is connected to the specific kind of Jewish exile that these authors have chosen. All three live in Berlin, which occupies a special role in the contemporary Jewish imagination. And all of them explore through literature the desires, fears, and disappointments of exile and homecoming.