Stefan Heym: The Perpetual Dissident

Description

Stefan Heym's uncompromising stance made him unpopular with a succession of political regimes. The Nazis, the CIA and the East German secret police all held files on him. He was Hitler's youngest literary exile; McCarthyism was to drive him from the USA; and even in what appeared his natural home - the first socialist state on German soil - he was to become the country's leading dissident. By continuing to compose in both English and German, however, he maintained an international reputation, and has been translated into over twenty languages. This study traces Heym's career principally by reference to his novels, journalism, and political essays, from his earliest works. All his novels are analysed, the major ones in depth, and English translations of all German quotations are provided. Peter Hutchinson focuses particularly on Heym's battles against Stalinism and censorship, and the way in which his courageous defiance of a repressive regime inspired others and paved the way for the 'new' eastern literature of the eighties.

"This monograph on Stefan Heym's life and work is an important addition to Heym scholarship..." Monatshefte "Hutchinson's representation of Heym is thorough and well argued. The insights into Heym's fictional works receive substantial support from Heym's own biographical details...Peter Hutchinson is to be commended for his thorough research. In addition to the detailed interpretation of Heym's novels and political activities, Hutchinson provides extensive supplemental materials in his notes and a 21-page bibliography...I would recommend this book to any scholar interested in Stefan Heym or writers living under different German regimes, spanning the period from the Weimar Republic to united Germany." Carol Anne Costabile-Heming