Die Identität im Kriegsgebiet suchend – Norbert Gstreins Kroatienromane

The setting of Norbert Gstrein´s novels Das Handwerk des Tötens (2005) and Die Winter im Süden (2008) is Croatia. Through the destinies of the protagonists Gstrein presents the historical background and the implications of the wars in Croatia. At the same time, the novels present this region also as a projection surface of mid-European identities. The protagonists, which can be divided into “local inhabitants” and “strangers”, are in search of their own identities, which are based partly on past and partly on present events. The protagonists try to construct their own identities in contact with and in comparison to the strange identity. The stereotypes and clichés that are thereby created bear witness to the impossibility of an objective perception of the “other”, which can lead to tragic consequences.