Arjouni's texts tell the stories of losers and impostors who desperately try to uphold their identity concepts or satisfy social demands. They also adress the 'German' identity and its inherent rejection and demarcation from the 'foreign'. Stereotyping and subversion are central narrative devices in Arjouni?'s work, mirroring the superficial view of the 'other' and the 'own', but also encompassing narrative and genre-specific stereotypes. Behind Arjouni's irony, situational comedy, and wit, an aesthetic of failure to satisfy individual and social conditions in postwar Germany shines through. Ten years after Arjouni's death, this book presents research findings and -tendencies on his work.
