Monika Maron has been a controversial figure since the reunification of Germany because of her alleged collusion with the East German regime. She is a prolific writer and essayist, whose latest novel Pawels Briefe: Eine Familiengeschichte, appeared in 1999. Her previous collection of essays, Nach Maβgabe meiner Begreifungskraft, was published in 1993. Most of the items in Quer uber die Gleise have appeared in newspapers; some are the texts of speeches. They are less defensive than the entries of the earlier collection, yet they attempt to situate Maron among those who merit understanding rather than censure for the years spent in the East.

These essays are clever and readable. They show a lively imagination and a fine command of language. Two of them, “Vier Archetypen” and the parable “Zwei Bruder,” are particularly direct presentations of cliches about the attitudes of Germans on both sides after reunification. Both reveal glaring flaws in the stances taken at that time. While the first concentrates on attitudes, the second uses the family setting to reveal the weakness and futility of mutual censure.

Another notable essay among a fascinating group of nineteen is an exuberant all-out attack on selected reviewers who commented in newspapers after the publication of Pawels Briefe. Titled “Rollenwechsel: Uber einen Text und seine Kritiker,” it is particularly harsh toward selected women reviewers who failed to read the book accurately. It is most interesting to read a writer's documented refutation of her critics. There should be more such countercriticism. In the process, Maron discusses many contemporary themes—for example, the failings of the younger generation of European women (“Girlies”), the Stasi, Peter Zadek's defection from Berlin, and Uwe Johnson in the East Germany of her youth (“Ein Schicksalsbuch”).

It has been observed by German critics that many of these essays treat the theme of remembrance. More precisely, it is the failure of memory that interests Maron, not simply her own but also her mother's and that of the culture as a whole. The collection ends strongly. The final two essays, “Eigentlich sind wir nett” and “Ich will, was alle wollen,” are affecting and typically direct. The former sketches an encounter on a train during which the author cleverly defends the personality of the Berliner against a West German. The last contribution is a deeply affecting human reverie on the theme of aging.

The hallmark of these selections is their unmistakable sincerity and the agony of spirit which has preceded their articulation. Beyond the talent and perspicacity of this author is the person making a dignified plea for acceptance and understanding. It will be the hardened reader indeed who fails to be convinced of the collection's merit.