ABSTRACT
Bildungsromane are often debut or early novels by writers who relate part of their youthful experiences by means of an archetypal growing-older-and-wiser narrative in which the adolescent theme is paired with other concerns such as growth, identity, and transformation. In a seminal text, Karl Morgenstern argues that the term Bildung (or formation) refers both to the Bildungsroman protagonists and readers, implying that both character and reader gain intellectual, aesthetic, and moral development.
This chapter examines the strong Bildungsroman streak which pervades half of Koch’s multifaceted novels by highlighting the main characteristics of these ontological journeys. The discussion of the transformation element in these novels and of the writer’s conceptual use of metaphors will draw attention to Koch’s literary project. The critical discussion of Morgenstern’s thesis, which contends that formation novels are gazing inward and outward, will eventually stimulate discussions about narrative persuasion.
