Juli Zeh

We all need authors like you, who fight against the nonsense that threatens to overwhelm the world with the strength of their personality and the power of their expression. Burkhard Spinnen in a tribute to Juli Zeh. She is perceived as a politically engaged author who intervenes in public debates. With 'Unterleuten,' Juli Zeh has presented a highly regarded social novel: a bestseller that was adapted into a three-part film by ZDF. Zeh is also often honored; in 2018, she received the Federal Cross of Merit. However, criticism and literary studies approach the educated writer and doctoral jurist with skepticism, as her themes and plot constructions take center stage in her narrative texts. The author, for instance, develops complex theorems of physics ('Schilf') within the genre of the crime novel. Apocalyptic scenarios are consistently present: as a diagnosis of the times ('Spieltrieb') or as foreshadowing (as seen in 'Corpus Delicti' and 'Leere Herzen'). The concluding images and turning points of her narratives or grotesque plays predominantly feature surreal exaggerations (such as 'Neujahr'), which strikingly and unexpectedly counteract the previous 'realistic' psychologizations of her characters. This volume aims to do justice to the special, indeed unique status of Juli Zeh and therefore gathers essays on individual works, as well as on overarching questions and comprehensive interpretations of her previous publications.