Die Romantrilogie des argentinisch-österreichischen Schriftstellers Germán Kratochwil: das Große im Kleinen Patagoniens

Germán Kratochwil, born in Austria in 1938, soon emigrated to Argentina, but came late to literature after a long career as a sociologist. Meanwhile three novels in German have appeared : Scherbengericht (2012), Río Puro (2013) and Territorium (2016). Since the setting for all three is Patagonia, one could speak of a trilogy of Patagonian novels. Hand in hand with a considerable arsenal of characters, the motives remain constant in the confrontation between past and present, in attempts at social ascent and in the effects of international conflicts in a Patagonia far from the world, only apparently. Through a precise textual analysis, the reasons mentioned are studied here to conclude that in the smallness of Patagonia, even with a somewhat oscillating vision of the world, the great events of the world point to an unclear future.