An unusually long, detailed, and interesting discussion of DIVIDED HEAVEN seemed to demonstrate that (1) it IS possible to work with a limited number of available copies, advance notice and cooperation provided; (2) additional material supplied before the session, such as Maren's introductory essay and the article raising translation issues, really add substance to our sessions. I believe Maren has a proposal on this very subject …
At any rate, here are just a few of the issues discussed. Please add and comment, I know I missed a lot of the back and forth!
- The setting – which was far more than a setting – of the GDR as the wall went up: the newness of this subject and viewpoint to most of the book group. Questions as to why someone studying to be a teacher would be assigned to a factory – the proletariat as "ruling class" – the aftermath of fascism and the war.
- Women's relative freedom and equality in the GDR – was this contradicted/undermined by Rita's breakdown?
- The characters – were they flat? Stereotypical? Determined by their environment in a way we're not used to (with the exception of Zolaesque naturalism)?
- The shifting perspective, from "one" to "Rita" to "we" (elided in the English translation) – a collective mentality?
- Manfred's parents – seen by some as the most rounded, developed characters in the book, by others as a stereotype of the bourgeoisie.
- Manfred and Rita's situation vis-à-vis his parents – living and sleeping in their home, but causing a minor domestic scandal by holding hands under the diningroom table. An interesting discussion of the boyfriend/girlfriend/parents relationship in different cultures.
- The faulty English translation (Emma-Jane supplied alternative translations of passages cited in the article, which seemed reassuringly closer to the French translation).
Phoebe
