Klasse & Herkunft in der Gegenwartsliteratur Ilija Matusko: Verdunstung in der Randzone

In the organizer's words:

"No day off" - that's what it says on the sign at the entrance. Ilija's parents run a restaurant in Bavaria. He has been helping in the kitchen since he was a child, growing up with chips and deep fryers. When the restaurant is no longer running, his parents open a new one somewhere else.
Because his father likes to play tennis, he gives his son tennis lessons. Ilija makes new friends at the club and wants to go to grammar school like them. His life becomes increasingly disconnected from that of his parents, especially when his father returns to Croatia. But something stays with him through the years: "It smells like chips, Ilija is coming!" This sentence from a classmate, which has stayed with him to this day, becomes the starting point for a self-questioning process: Does the smell reveal one's social background?
In his debut, Ilija Matusko combines personal memories with sociological observations. In ten essayistic chapters, he tells the story of an educational climber - with a keen eye for subtle differences, wit and literary power.

Please register for the event at: emily.grunert@literaturbuero-nrw.de

Moderation: Emily Grunert (Head of Literaturbüro NRW) & students of the University of Düsseldorf.

An event of the Literaturbüro NRW, the Institute for German Studies at HHU and the Heine-Center for Sustainable Development - Section Diversity.