Deutsche Kürzestgeschichte: Erzähltheoretische Analyse ausgewählter „short short stories“ von Kerstin Hensel und Heiner Feldhoff

Kürzestgeschichte (lit. shortest story), which is the German term for a subcategory of short story, became established as a literary genre in the 20th century. Its condensed content conformed to the hectic pace of life but, in terms of the issues discussed, it was more essential and dedicated to an experienced reader. In this paper, a narratological analysis of selected shortest stories by Heiner Feldhoff and Kerstin Hensel will be conducted. A methodological basis for the analysis is the categories implemented by Gérard Genette. Its aim is to provide an answer to the question whether shortest stories could be, like any other epic texts, subject to a narratological analysis and to what extent the length of a text might influence the findings of such an analysis.