Lifespan Narratives

Forthcoming in May 2025.

A poignant exploration of post–World War II life, blending fictional and non-fictional stories that challenge traditions and reflect on the enduring impact of historical disruptions.

Originally comprising Alexander Kluge’s first book, these stories were written between the years 1958 and 1962. As he writes, ‘At that time the disruptions of 1945, the so-called end of the war, which today we know was no end at all, belonged to the present.’ Lifespan Narratives has to do with stories, fictitious and not, which present a sad chronicle and question tradition from a number of different perspectives.

Kluge emphasizes the importance of continuously questioning our past, noting, ‘Oftentimes the places where we are carrying out our current labours of annihilation have the same names they did in the years before and during 1945.’ He underscores the necessity of recounting lifespan narratives even from today’s viewpoint, proposing that ‘life in a time of disruption’ should be viewed as a constant experiential substance, transcending any single era.

In Lifespan Narratives, readers are invited to explore the enduring impact of historical disruptions through Kluge’s masterful storytelling, which remains as relevant today as it was in the years following the Second World War. For this edition, the English translation of a selection of stories by Leila Vennewitz (1912–2007) has been expanded by Alexander Booth in conjunction with the author.