Plurale Erinnerungen erzählen: Transtemporale und transnationale Verbindungen in Sharon Dodua Otoos Adas Raum

Abstract

The plurality of Germany’s population is still not reflected in its culture of remembrance. Dominant memory culture continues to present itself as a “single story,” which is characterized by a narrow narration of history and the marginalization of minoritized memories. In this article, I argue that Sharon Dodua Otoo’s novel Adas Raum pluralizes German memory discourse by narrating transnational and transtemporal connections. To do so, my theoretical frame work draws on ideas of Max Czollek, Michael Rothberg’s “multidirectional memory,” the concept of “plurale Erinnerungskulturen,” and the “single story,” a notion introduced by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. My analysis of Adas Raum shows that the novel’s syntax, structure, iterations of similar characters and their experiences as well as motifs create an aesthetic of connections that leads to plural memories. I demonstrate that contemporary literature plays an important role in the collective renegotiation of remembrance, as the novel narrates minoritized memories and these pluralize memory culture. (JO, in German)