The Unfinished
Title page for German language edition titled, Die Unvollendeten (2003) | |
| Author | Reinhard Jirgl |
|---|---|
| Original title | Die Unvollendeten |
| Translator | Iain Galbraith |
| Language | German |
| Publisher | Carl Hanser Verlag |
Publication date | 2003 |
| Publication place | Germany |
Published in English | April 2020 |
| Pages | 256 |
| ISBN | 3446202714 |
The Unfinished (German: Die Unvollendeten) is a 2003 novel by the German writer Reinhard Jirgl.
Plot
The novel is about the expulsion of the Sudeten Germans and follows a German family during three periods: during the expulsion directly after World War II, when the surviving women live in the Soviet occupation zone in Germany but retain hope of one day returning, and years later when the son of the youngest woman undergoes cancer treatment in Berlin and writes down his family's history. The characters are inspired by Jirgl's own family.[1][2][3][4][5]
Reception
Jirgl received the 2003 Rheingau Literatur Preis for his collected works and in particular The Unfinished.[6]
References
- ^ Graf, Guido (6 April 2003). "Die Unvollendeten" (in German). Deutschlandfunk. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ Landshuter, Stephan (1 September 2003). "Die Welt als Hölle und Nachstellung". Literaturportal.de (in German). Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ Nord, Cristina (19 July 2003). "Vererbte Fluchtreflexe". Die Tageszeitung (in German). Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ Eigler, Friederike (2010). "Beyond the Victims Debate: Flight and Expulsion in Recent Novels by Authors from the Second and Third Generation (Christoph Hein, Reinhard Jirgl, Kathrin Schmidt, and Tanja Dückers)". In Cohen-Pfister, L.; Vees-Gulani, S. (eds.). Generational Shifts in Contemporary German Culture. Studies in German Literature Linguistics and Culture. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 77–94. doi:10.1017/9781571137265.004.
- ^ Egger, Sabine (1 October 2023). "Train Journeys in Postmemorial Narratives of Heimatverlust: Reinhard Jirgl's Die Unvollendeten and Sabrina Janesch's Katzenberge". Transit. 14 (1). Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ "Rheingau Literatur Preis 2003 an Reinhard Jirgl". Buchmarkt (in German). 6 October 2003. Retrieved 28 December 2025.