Zaimoglu, Feridun. German Amok (Frankfurt: Fischer, 2002)

Zaimoglu is perhaps better known for his debut work Kanak Sprak (1995) and the Kanak Attack movement that it inspired. German Amok continues Zaimoglu’s interest in masculinity and in the relationship between subcultures and the mainstream in contemporary German society. It follows an artist narrator through his sardonic and scathing critique of the German arts scene, even as he is desperate to make a success of his own paintings. The language is difficult at times, so perhaps better suited to a final-year course at most institutions, but the style and language are more conventional than in Kanak Sprak or Koppstoff (1999).