Eva Menasse über ihren Roman "Dunkelblum" - #659

In 'Sortiermaschinen' untersucht Steffen Mau, wie Grenzen heute als komplexe Systeme fungieren, die durch rechtliche Regelungen, Daten und Technologien die Mobilität von Personen steuern und Ungleichheiten erzeugen. Das Buch beleuchtet die Transformation von Grenzen in einer globalisierten Welt und ihre Rolle als Selektionsmechanismen.

The novel is set in the summer of 1989 in Dunkelblum, a village on the eastern border of Austria. The story revolves around the town's residents who hold dark secrets related to the Second World War and the Nazi period. As a mysterious visitor arrives and starts asking questions, threatening letters are sent, people disappear, and a body is found, forcing the town to confront its past. The novel delves into Austria's treatment of the Jewish community, the experiences of living in the borderlands, and the rewriting of history. It also touches on the events of 1945 when Hungarian Jewish laborers were killed in the town, and the aftermath where witnesses met with unexplained deaths.