The appearance of the 1989 political transformation in Central European prose

Abstrakt

The appearance of the 1989 political transformation in Central European prose

The study is interpreting the common experiences of (Eastern) Central European literatures, whose common factors are the dictatorship lasting over forty years, 1989 as the turning point, and the post-communist era. I analyse the following Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian and Slovak Hungarian books: Dorota Masłowska Wojna polsko-ruska pod flagą biało-czerwoną (Polish-Russian war under the white and red flag) (2002), Jáchym Topol Anděl (Angel) (1995), Eman Erdélyi, Marek Vadas Univerzita (University) (1996), Oliver Bakoš Katedra paupológie (The Paupology Department) (2001), Attila Györy Kitörés (Breaking out) (1993), János Térey Termann hagyományai (Termann’s Traditions) (1997) and Attila Hazai Szex a nappaliban (Sex in the Living Room) (2000). The theoretical boom of the 90s and the new, determining Central-Eastern-European status of theory is a common experience in Eastern-Central-European literary theory and literature. Another great experience of post-89 Eastern-Central-European prose is travelling and the meeting of cultures. The topos of being en route seems essential in the European novel, and most often, the stages of the protagonist’s development are linked to the sections of the road travelled. In post-1989 Eastern-Central European prose, drugs are major referential candidates. Drugs became part of the post-89 folklore; for the societies awakening behind the iron curtain, especially for the young generations, they are identified with freedom or, more precisely, with its anarchistic concept. The study analyses the common socio-cultural characteristics in the post-89 Eastern-Central-European prose.