ABSTRACT
Chapter 7 analyses the meta-mnemonic explorations in Flut und Boden: Roman einer Familie (2014) by the German writer Per Leo. In this chapter, Lensen analyses how Leo, through the use of an autodiegetic narrative, depicts the shift within a third-generation protagonist from a conventional post-mnemonic quest for historical insight and coping with the NS-legacy within his family, toward an appropriative, self-sufficient, and irreverent mnemonic attitude. Rather than abiding by the established mnemonic rules and sensitivities within the family sphere, the protagonist increasingly asserts that this memory only makes sense to him if it is guided by his own interests and concerns. Besides laying out this process on the diegetic level, the text can be read as the embodiment of his struggle for mnemonic independence on an extradiegetic level. Lensen’s analysis reveals how the novel’s self-conscious tone, its irony-laden critique of Nazi involvement, its complex narrative plot development, and its pervasive use of poetic language epitomize a playful engagement of memory, reflecting a knowledgeable but thoroughly post-traumatic perspective.
