Marlene Streeruwitz is an Austrian playwright, novelist, poet and short story writer. While attending the University of Vienna, she interrupts her studies in law and Slavic languages to marry and raise a family. Following her divorce, she begins writing — an experience that I believe to have left a profound and enduring mark on both the content and tone of her work. Already established as a successful author, she publishes in 2010 Das wird alles mir alles nicht passieren… Wie bleibe ich FeministIn. This collection compromises eleven short stories. They focus on the lives of nine women and two men enclosed by gendered norms.
In her collection, Streeruwitz delves into the themes of marriage, religion, ageing, family, financial pressure, and how they are intertwined with a sense of helplessness and lack of control over one's own life. The author portrays various social-cultural backgrounds and age, such as the idea that resistance to gendered expectations is a shared, collective experience.
I find the stories of Christian, a stay-at-home father, and Yasmina, a Kurdish expatriate, particularly compelling. Christian, a former carpenter, put his career on hold to support his wife's diplomatic work, thus highlighting the lack of emotional support available to fathers. Yasmina’s story explores the tension between familial expectations to uphold her Kurdish religious identity and her personal reflections on the meaning of faith.
However, the collection predominantly focuses on heterosexual relationships, and many of the narrative tropes are clishés — such as the age-gap affair between a young woman and her much older, married former professor.
To fully appreciate the collection, I believe an initial interest in feminist literature is required. The stories are neither transcendent nor cathartic — intentionally so, in my view. They tell the stories of ordinary people with the real struggle of self-assertion. The endings are rarely conclusive or dramatic; rather, they tend to remain open-ended. The narrator depicts the characters’ self-questioning without leading them toward a significant transformation. Indeed, Streeruwitz does not follow a classical structure including exposition, climax, and resolution. I believe she belongs to a generation of modern writers who, under the influence of the Nouveau Roman, try to challenge the literary codes.
I would recommend this collection to confident readers in German language (B2 and above). As the book is divided into eleven independent short stories, with a similar structure, it is a relatively accessible read. Moreover, the language is colloquial, and rich in geographic and cultural references specific to Austria and Germany, which adds an additional layer of interest for non-native readers.
Overall, Streetuwitz’s book is an accessible read for anyone interested in feminist literature.
Review by Lena Curtet
This review was written for the ACF London's EXPLORE OUR LIBRARY initiative.
