Border Crossing and Self-Placement of Characters with a Migratory Background in Contemporary German Novels

Abstract

The existence of a “Migrant literature” is heavily debated in German studies, especially when it comes to authors like those of the third voice, who are socialized in Germany and speak German as their mother tongue. Nonetheless, novels that deal with migration and living with migrant backgrounds have similar characteristics. This article is primarily about the topic of crossing borders in such migrant novels by Olga Grjasnowa, Sasha Marianna Salzmann and Dimitrij Kapitelman. Which effects does border crossing have on characters with a migration background? The novels examined are not only characterized by a border crossing of migration from east to west, but actually even by multiple border crossings on different levels, that are always linked to each other. The literature of the third voice unites aspects of migration, but equally also aspects of adolescent literature and family sagas. That is shown, among other things, in the presentation and meaning of boundaries and their crossings as identity-creating moments and as coping strategies. Therefore, these border crosser stories enable new perspectives compared to conventional family sagas and adolescent literature.

Keywords

• migrant literature
• adolescent literature
• family sagas
• border crossing
• transit space
• self-transgression
• intercultural characters
• liminal experiences
• alienation
• third voice