The Story of the Last Thought
Encyclopedia
The novel The Story of the Last Thought (in German Das Märchen vom letzten Gedanken) of the German-Jewish writer Edgar Hilsenrath
is about the Armenian Genocide
in 1915. The epic which has the form of a fairy tale (Märchen) and for which Hilsenrath received many prizes is regarded as the most important book about this historical episode. In 2006 the president of Armenia
presented the author with the State Award for Literature of the Republic of Armenia for his work.
Translated on Armenian by Lili Ter-Minasyan.
has received many prizes. In 1989 Günter Grass
presented him with the prestigious Alfred Döblin prize. In 2006 the president of Armenia, where Hilsenrath is regarded as a national hero, honoured him with the State Award for Literature of the Republic of Armenia for his work. Also in 2006 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the Yerevan State University
for his work.
The Forty Days of Musa Dagh
, the novel that had previously been considered to be the most important book about Armenia in world literature: “But I think Hilsenrath's novel is significantly superior to Werfel's: it is a historic and poetic novel at the same time.”
According to Dagmar C. G. Lorenz
, "Hilsenrath's Marchen vom letzten Gedanken is a powerful artistic statement against all forms of oppression. In addition to racism and nationalist arrogance, Hilsenrath isolates inequality, poverty, and ignorance, but above all, dishonesty, as factors contributing to genocide. The dynamics of oppression and submission are present in all enclaves of society and thus difficult to combat, although Hilsenrath argues that to avoid further genocides they must be eradicated."
Manfred Orlick judged: “Over and over they say: one cannot write about this topic like this. But the author has managed to delineate the cruelties through innumerable short dialogues, to portray them movingly and in this way get across the historical facts. An inhuman book of fairy tales as only Hilsenrath could write it.”
The author himself considers The Story of the Last Thought to be his most poetic work.
The English translation was published in Great Britain in 1990 (paperback 1994).
Edgar Hilsenrath
Edgar Hilsenrath is a German-Jewish writer living in Berlin. His main works are Night, The Nazi and the Barber, and The Story of the Last Thought.-Biography:...
is about the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
in 1915. The epic which has the form of a fairy tale (Märchen) and for which Hilsenrath received many prizes is regarded as the most important book about this historical episode. In 2006 the president of Armenia
President of Armenia
President of Armenia is the title of the head of state of Armenia since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.-Democratic Republic of Armenia :*Avetis Aharonyan *Avetik Sahakyan *Avetis Aharonyan -Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and Armenian...
presented the author with the State Award for Literature of the Republic of Armenia for his work.
Content
The Story of the Last Thought is the history of a village in Anatolia that is being destroyed by the Turks. The main character is the Armenian Wartan Khatisian, whose son Thovma is dying. His last thought - the last thought of a man, the fairy tale says, is beyond time - is being told the history of his ancestors, the life of suffering of the Armenian people. The storyteller Meddah guides the last thought of Thovma along the life paths of his father, that lead from a small idyllic mountain village into the torture chambers of the Turkish rulers, and let him become a witness of the big pogrom against the Armenians in 1915. “By means of an oriental fairy tale, and drawing from sagas and legends of this distressed nation, Hilsenrath goes far back into Armenian history and touches upon the plight of all genocide victims. A cruel book and nevertheless a book of love, of hope and of wonders.” (Cover text) Despite choosing a fictitious genre the historical facts have been carefully investigated and verified by the author.Translated on Armenian by Lili Ter-Minasyan.
Awards
For his epic The Story of the Last Thought Edgar HilsenrathEdgar Hilsenrath
Edgar Hilsenrath is a German-Jewish writer living in Berlin. His main works are Night, The Nazi and the Barber, and The Story of the Last Thought.-Biography:...
has received many prizes. In 1989 Günter Grass
Günter Grass
Günter Wilhelm Grass is a Nobel Prize-winning German author, poet, playwright, sculptor and artist.He was born in the Free City of Danzig...
presented him with the prestigious Alfred Döblin prize. In 2006 the president of Armenia, where Hilsenrath is regarded as a national hero, honoured him with the State Award for Literature of the Republic of Armenia for his work. Also in 2006 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the Yerevan State University
Yerevan State University
Yerevan State University is a university in Yerevan, Armenia. Founded on May 16 1919, it is the largest university in the country with 110 departments. Of its 3,150 employees, 1,190 comprise the teaching staff which includes 25 academicians, 130 professors, 700 docents , and 360 assistant lecturers...
for his work.
Reception and debate
After the first publication of Hilsenrath's novel (in Germany in 1989) the critic Alexander von Bormann wrote in the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung with regard to Franz Werfel'sFranz Werfel
Franz Werfel was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet.- Biography :Born in Prague , Werfel was the first of three children of a wealthy manufacturer of gloves and leather goods. His mother, Albine Kussi, was the daughter of a mill owner...
The Forty Days of Musa Dagh
The Forty Days of Musa Dagh
The Forty Days of Musa Dagh is a 1933 novel by Austrian-Jewish author Franz Werfel based on the defense of a small community of Armenians living in the Musa Dagh of the Ottoman Empire in 1915 during the height of the Armenian Genocide. The book was originally published as Die Vierzig Tage des Musa...
, the novel that had previously been considered to be the most important book about Armenia in world literature: “But I think Hilsenrath's novel is significantly superior to Werfel's: it is a historic and poetic novel at the same time.”
According to Dagmar C. G. Lorenz
Dagmar C. G. Lorenz
Dagmar C. G. Lorenz is Professor of Germanic Studies and Director of Jewish Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She teaches and publishes on Austrian, German and German-Jewish literature and culture, and Holocaust Studies. She was born in Goslar, West Germany and began her studies at...
, "Hilsenrath's Marchen vom letzten Gedanken is a powerful artistic statement against all forms of oppression. In addition to racism and nationalist arrogance, Hilsenrath isolates inequality, poverty, and ignorance, but above all, dishonesty, as factors contributing to genocide. The dynamics of oppression and submission are present in all enclaves of society and thus difficult to combat, although Hilsenrath argues that to avoid further genocides they must be eradicated."
Manfred Orlick judged: “Over and over they say: one cannot write about this topic like this. But the author has managed to delineate the cruelties through innumerable short dialogues, to portray them movingly and in this way get across the historical facts. An inhuman book of fairy tales as only Hilsenrath could write it.”
The author himself considers The Story of the Last Thought to be his most poetic work.
The English translation was published in Great Britain in 1990 (paperback 1994).
Articles
- Armenian article with photograph of Edgar HilsenrathEdgar HilsenrathEdgar Hilsenrath is a German-Jewish writer living in Berlin. His main works are Night, The Nazi and the Barber, and The Story of the Last Thought.-Biography:...
presented with the State Award for Literature of the Republic of Armenia for his work by the president, Robert Kocharyan - Bestselling German-Jewish Author Satirizes the Holocaust, Deutsche Welle, April 9, 2006