Christa Wolf

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CRITICISM

Buruma, Ian. “There's No Place Like Heimat.” New York Review of Books (20 December 1990): 34, 36–39, 42–43.

Buruma provides a critical overview of Patterns of Childhood, The Quest for Christa T., No Place on Earth, Cassandra, and The Fourth Dimension, as well as a discussion of the controversy surrounding Was bleibt.

Gewen, Barry. “Eastern Lights.” New Leader (15 October 1984): 13–14.

Gewen offers a mixed assessment of Cassandra, faulting the work for its heavy-handed feminist ideals.

Goozé, Marjanne E. “Finding a Place for Christa Wolf: Gendered Identity in No Place on Earth.” In International Women's Writing: New Landscapes of Identity, edited by Anne E. Brown and Marjanne E. Goozé, pp. 44–59. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1995.

Goozé examines Wolf's underlying feminism and prescient commentary on the marginalized status of the writer—notably her own—in No Place on Earth.

Gordon, Mary. “Skeleton in the Cellar.” Nation (11 May 1998): 18, 20.

In this review of Medea, Gordon comments on the impossibility of separating Wolf's personal past from interpretations of her writing.

Graves, Peter. “Christa Wolf's Sommerstück: An Intensified June Afternoon.” Modern Language Review 87, Pt. 2 (April 1992): 393–406.

Graves discusses the narrative structure and psychological themes in Sommerstück, drawing parallels to the short story “Juninachmittag.”

Hall, Edith. “Sustained by Lies.” Times Literary Supplement (17 April 1998): 22.

Hall offers a positive assessment of Medea.

Internicola, Dorene. “Writer Bludgeons Truth.” New Directions for Women 15, No. 1 (January–February 1986): 12.

Internicola offers a negative assessment of Cassandra, criticizing Wolf's “daunting self-righteousness.”

Lipton, Eunice. “Memory Manager.” Women's Review of Books XV, No. 8 (May 1998): 6–7.

In this review of Parting from Phantoms, Lipton discusses Wolf's public condemnation after the collapse of East Germany and expresses admiration for her literary and political commitment despite lingering questions about her integrity.

Schoefer, Christine. “The Attack on Christa Wolf.” Nation (22 October 1990): 446, 448–49.

Schoefer discusses how the publication of Was bleibt brought accusations against Wolf, charging that she was a collaborator with the East German government.

Slavitt, Davis R. “Revenge Fantasy.” New York Times Book Review (14 June 1998): 17.

Slavitt offers a negative assessment of Medea, calling the novel “impossible to read straight.”

Weil, Lise. “The Repression of Memory.” Women's Review of Books X, Nos. 10–11 (July 1993): 19–20.

Weil offers a positive assessment of What Remains and The Author's Dimension.

Wiesehan, Gretchen. “Christa Wolf Reconsidered: National Stereotypes in Kindheitmuster.Germanic Review LXVIII, No. 2 (Spring 1993): 79–87.

Wiesehan examines Wolf's portrayal of Americans, Russians, and other cultural groups in Kindheitmuster.

Additional coverage of Wolf's life and career is contained in the following sources published by the Gale Group: Contemporary Authors, Vols. 85–88; Contemporary Authors New Revision Series, Vol. 45; Contemporary World Writers, Vol. 2; Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 75; Feminist Writers; Literature Resource Center; Major 20th-Century Writers, Edition 1; and Reference Guide to World Literature.

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Criticism