Drückender Tango

First edition

Drückender Tango (Oppressive Tango) is a collection of short stories by Nobel Prize-winning author Herta Müller. It was Müller's second book, published in 1984 in Bucharest.[1] After its publication, Müller was no longer allowed to publish her work in Romania and she moved to Germany.[2] Reviews in Germany had been positive for Drückender Tango, by contrast with the criticism it received in the Romanian press.[3] Today, it has been described as one of Muller's best-known books.[4]

The stories are mainly about the harshness of life in a small village in the Socialist Republic of Romania, which was still under the control of Nicolae Ceaușescu at the time they were written.[2][3][4] Urban life is also featured.[1] The name of the collection may be in reference to Romanian-born German poet Paul Celan's Todesfuge (1948), which was translated as Tangoul mortii (Death Tango) in Romania.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Haines, Brigid; Marven, Lyn (20 June 2013). Herta Müller. Oxford University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-19-166959-0. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  2. ^ a b Kuiper, Kathleen. "Herta Müller". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  3. ^ a b "The Nobel Prize in Literature 2009 - Herta Müller". NobelPrize.org. The Swedish Academy. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Nobel prize for literature: Herta Muller 'stunned' at winning". The Telegraph. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  5. ^ Haines & Marven 2013, p. 43.


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