Irmgard Keun
The stirring, never-before-translated story of a single, pregnant, and wickedly nervy young secretary making her way through a Germany succumbing to the Nazis.,Irmgard Keunâ€™s first novel, Gilgi, was an overnight sensation upon its initial publication in Germany, selling thousands of copies, inspiring numerous imitators, and making Keun a household nameâ€”a reputation that was only heightened when, a few years later, the nervy Keun sued the Gestapo for blocking her royalties.,The story of a young woman trying to establish her independence in a society being overtaken by fascism, ,Gilgi, was not only a brave story, but revolutionary in its depiction of womenâ€™s issues, at the same time that it was, simply, an absorbing and stirring tale of a dauntless spirit. Gilgi is a secretary in a hosiery firm, but she doesnâ€™t intend to stay there for long: sheâ€™s disciplined and ambitious, taking language classes, saving up money to go abroad, and carefully avoiding both the pawing of her boss and any other prolonged romantic entanglements. But then she falls in love with Martin, a charming drifter, and leaves her job for domestic blissâ€”which turns out not to be all that blissfulâ€“ and Gilgi finds herself pregnant and facing a number of moral dilemmas.,Revolutionary at the time for its treatment of sexual harassment, abortion, single motherhood, and the â€œNew Woman,â€ ,Gilgi, remains a perceptive and beautifully constructed novel about one womanâ€™s path to maturity. It is presented here in its first-ever translation into English.
Fiction,Cultural,Germany,European Literature,German Literature,Classics,Historical,Historical Fiction,Literature,20th Century,Literary Fiction,Feminism,Novels,Literature
Gilgi, eine von uns