Images of Ukraine in Contemporary German-Language Migration Literature

Abstract

This article offers an overview of some main representation models of the Ukrainian space in the works of contemporary German-language authors with an Eastern European migration background. Building on a reading of the novels Aller Tage Abend by Jenny Erpenbeck, Sie kam aus Mariupol by Natasha Wodin and Vielleicht Esther by Katja Petrowskaja, specific examples are taken into consideration to explore topographical, cultural-historical and aesthetic elements which are central to the images of the Ukraine in contemporary literary discourse.