Cassandra A Novel and Four Essays [Paperback]

In this volume, the distinguished East German writer Christa Wolf retells the story of the fall of Troy, but from the point of view of the woman whose visionary powers earned her contempt and scorn. Written as a result of the author's Greek travels and studies,Cassandraspeaks to us in a pressing monologue whose inner focal points are patriarchy and war. In the four accompanying pieces, which take the form of travel reports, journal entries, and a letter, Wolf describes the novel's genesis. Incisive and intelligent, the entire volume represents an urgent call to examine the past in order to insure a future.

In 1980 East German authorChrista Wolftook a trip to Greece accompanied by her husband, Gerhard. In 1982 she was awarded a guest lectureship at the University of Frankfurt, where in May she delivered a series of five Lectures on Poetics relating to her Greek travels and studies. The fifth lecture was ad raft of the novelCassandra, which she then revised and expanded for publication. The four introductory lectures were published separately in Germany under the titleConditions of a Narrative: Cassandra; The Frankfurt Lectures on Poetics(Voraussetzungen einer Erz?hlung: Kassandra). This volume presents the novel first, followed by its companion lectures, which illuminate its background and implications.