Karsch and Other Prose

It is time to revaluate Uwe Johnson's five prose texts contained in this volume, which were first published in 1964. Many readers and critics believed it to be a compilation of stories – although the author gave a clear indication that he did not want this book to be understood as a mere compilation by choosing a title that is not identical with any of the headings of the texts in the volume. The fact that Gesine Cresspahl from Mutmassungen über Jakob and Karsch from Das Dritte Buch über Achim are characters in the stories gave rise to the assumption that these were supplementary texts to the previous novels. After the completion of Anniversaries, it becomes clear in retrospect that Karsch and Other Prose represents a key text in Uwe Johnson's work. In it, the cosmos of his characters takes on a definite shape, the narrative programme as it unfolds in Anniversaries becomes comprehensible in its novelty compared to the first two novels.

Karsch and Other Prose was Johnson's first publication of short stories. They illuminate a decisive moment in his development: on the one hand, episodically concentrated, atmospherically dense narrative forms now appear alongside the clearly form-oriented novels. On the other hand, each narrative is a re-encounter: »Osterwasser«, »Beihilfe zum Umzug« and »Geschenksendung, keine Handelsware« take place in different phases of the life of Gesine Cresspahl, whom we know from Mutmassungen über Jakob. The longest text, »Eine Reise wegwohin«, ties in with Das dritte Buch über Achim. It changes the perspective on the journey of journalist Karsch to the GDR and adds a sequel. The oldest story, »Jonas zum Beispiel«, is a key text in Johnson's treatment of biblical material. Each of the texts in the volume is self-contained; taken as a whole, they provide insight into the author's workshop.