Monika Maron’s Followers (64)

Monika Maron

Born

in Berlin, Germany

June 03, 1941

edit data

Monika Maron is a German author, formerly of the German Democratic Republic. She moved in 1951 from West to East Berlin with her stepfather, Karl Maron, the GDR Minister of the Interior.

She studied theatre and spent time as a directing assistant and as a journalist. In the late 1970s, she began writing full-time in East Berlin. In her early novels written in East Berlin, her primary theme was life and loathing inside a totalitarian surveillance state. But despite Maron's criticism of the GDR regime, it turned out that she had worked as an informer for the Ministry of State Security, or Stasi — a fact that she addressed in her 1999 novel, Pawels Briefe (Pawel's Letters).

She left the GDR in 1988 with a three-year visa. After living in Hambu Monika Maron is a German author, formerly of the German Democratic Republic. She moved in 1951 from West to East Berlin with her stepfather, Karl Maron, the GDR Minister of the Interior.

She studied theatre and spent time as a directing assistant and as a journalist. In the late 1970s, she began writing full-time in East Berlin. In her early novels written in East Berlin, her primary theme was life and loathing inside a totalitarian surveillance state. But despite Maron's criticism of the GDR regime, it turned out that she had worked as an informer for the Ministry of State Security, or Stasi — a fact that she addressed in her 1999 novel, Pawels Briefe (Pawel's Letters).

She left the GDR in 1988 with a three-year visa. After living in Hamburg, Germany, until 1992, she returned to a reunited Berlin, where she currently lives and writes.

Her works deal to a large degree with confrontation with the past and explore the threats posed both by memory and isolation. Her prose is sparse, bleak, and lonely, conveying the sensitivity and desperation of her narrators.

In 1992, she was distinguished with the renowned Kleist Prize, awarded annually to prominent German authors, and, in 2003, with the Friedrich Hölderlin Prize.

Her latest novel, Artur Lanz (2020), delves into the emasculation of men as "heroes," and the evolution of "cancel culture" in a liberal mainstream that polices speech and opinions. Maron's characters' views on gender, immigration and Islam made some wonder if the once leftist writer had become Islamophobic or anti-feminist. Maron has also railed against the "gender gibberish" of woke liberals in political essays. She has criticized an "unenlightened Islam" and warned against "tolerance in the face of intolerance." Her political rhetoric echoes the far-right AFD party. Is the opinionated author turning herself into a mouthpiece for the alt right?

"I say what I think," she explained in an interview with public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. "I arrive at my convictions or opinions by looking at the world or reading about it, or by weighing one opinion against another and somehow orienting myself. Whether that's right-wing or not doesn't matter to me in the end." ...more

Combine Editions
Monika Maron’s books

Average rating: 3.64 · 2,659 ratings · 337 reviews · 44 distinct works • Similar authors

	Animal triste by Monika Maron, Brigitte Goldstein (Goodreads Author) (Translation) 3.93 avg rating — 947 ratings — published 1996 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Uçucu Kül by Monika Maron, Zehra Aksu Yılmazer (Translator) 3.66 avg rating — 358 ratings — published 1981 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Acayip Bir Başlangıç by Monika Maron, Zehra Aksu Yılmazer (Translator) 3.71 avg rating — 290 ratings — published 2002 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stille Zeile Sechs 3.59 avg rating — 228 ratings — published 1991 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pavel's Letters by Monika Maron, Brigitte Goldstein (Goodreads Author) (Translator) 3.27 avg rating — 176 ratings — published 1999 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Munin oder Chaos im Kopf 3.29 avg rating — 104 ratings — published 2018 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bonnie Propeller 3.79 avg rating — 62 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Das Haus 3.39 avg rating — 66 ratings — published 2023	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ach Glück 3.33 avg rating — 67 ratings — published 2007 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Zwischenspiel 3.43 avg rating — 63 ratings — published 2013 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Monika Maron…

Polls

Which book would you like to read for June?

Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys

50 votes, 45.9%

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian - Marina Lewycka

42 votes, 38.5%

Pavel's Letters - Monika Maron

17 votes, 15.6%

109 total votes

1 comment

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: 5.3 - S.U.M.M.E.R	30	258	Aug 22, 2010 12:34PM
Reading with Style: WI 10-11 Reading Suggestions "Backpacking through Europe"	40	397	Jan 17, 2011 11:13AM
Around the World ...: German Fiction	4	103	Jul 25, 2017 02:27PM
Reading 1001: Vote for August BOTM	24	42	Jun 21, 2018 07:21PM
Around the World ...: Samy's 2019 Translated Language Challenge	14	55	Dec 30, 2019 06:04PM
Around the World ...: Diane's 2020 World Tour - Frequent Flyer	91	188	Mar 22, 2020 01:51PM
Reading 1001: VOTE May 2020 BOTM - CLOSED	31	41	Mar 27, 2020 05:38PM
Reading German Bo...: Samy's 2020 Updated (again) German challenge	5	25	Dec 08, 2020 05:48PM
Around the World: 2020 - Where in the World Are You? (Currently Reading)	240	81	Dec 18, 2020 05:25PM
Reading 1001: Voting July 2022 BOTM CLOSED	38	51	May 27, 2022 11:32AM

More…

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite Monika to Goodreads.

Monika Maron’s Followers (64)

Monika Maron

Combine EditionsMonika Maron’s books

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Monika Maron’s books