"This book presents the first comprehensive account of German literature from the early 1990s to the present. It introduces an English-speaking audience to the complex dilemmas that are shaping the ways in which Germans are presently defining themselves, their difficult past, and the new "Berlin Republic." The theme that runs throughout the volume is the ongoing debate on German "normalization." In offering a wide-ranging consideration of contemporary German literature, the book complements a broad discussion of trends in present-day German politics, society, and culture with detailed readings of exemplary texts by such internationally renowned figures as W. G. Sebald, Gunter Grass, Martin Walser, Marcel Beyer, Ingo Schulze, Judith Hermann, Thomas Brussig, and Bernhard Schlink, as well as by newer, emerging writers."--BOOK JACKET