Lafayette Campus News (www.lafayette.edu), February 13, 2008 — Edward McDonald, professor of German in the department of foreign languages and literatures, recently published a new book on Heinrich Boll, a leading postwar German author and the 1972 Nobel Laureate in literature.
The work – Zur Frage der Daseinsfunktion von Heinrich Bölls umstrittenem Helden: Wozu ist der Clown da? – is written in German and published by Edwin Mellen Press. The title is translated as, On the Question of the Raison d’être of Heinrich Böll’s Controversial Hero: Wherefore is the Clown There?
The main focus of the book is an analysis of Böll’s controversial novel Ansichten eines Clowns (The Clown). McDonald particularly looks at the character of Hans Schnier, the satirical protagonist in the work, while illustrating the distinctions between the author and his protagonist. In this analysis, McDonald provides insight on Böll’s ambivalent attitude toward the growing economic prosperity of the time in postwar Germany, the newly risen land of the so-called “Economic Miracle.” McDonald further highlights Böll’s critical attitude toward “institutionalized thinking” and, in this regard, the ambiguous position of the hierarchy of the institution of the Catholic Church within the newly formed political system.
McDonald started working on the project in 2004. His involvement in leading summer and interim trips to Bonn, Germany, and Vienna, Austria, gave him numerous research opportunities, but slowed down the actual writing of the work. He was able to complete the manuscript during this year’s interim session.
“Not only is Böll an outstanding writer in terms of his status as a prominent moral force who had mirrored social and moral issues for his postwar compatriots, but he also offers a decided appeal to students of German language and literature,” explains McDonald.
McDonald is also currently using the works of Böll in the course “German Texts and Contexts: Bridging the Gap from Language to Literature.”
Franz Birgel, professor of German at Muhlenberg College, reviewed McDonald’s book, saying, “Considering the complexity of this novel, McDonald’s monograph is remarkable for its many perceptive, original, and enlightening insights into what is justifiably considered Böll’s most popular work.”
Vera Stegmann, associate professor of German at Lehigh University, commented on McDonald’s work, saying, “Böll’s Ansichten eines Clowns remains one of the most important literary works of the postwar era in Germany, and Edward McDonald’s critical study adds sensitive new insights to this masterpiece of 20th century German literature.”
The book also has a preface written by Ilse-Rose Warg, instructor of German at Penn State University’s Altoona campus.
McDonald’s book is available through the publisher’s web site and other online stores, such as amazon.com.
