»Most of the literature I know is by men. Do I read it differently? I think so. But how?«
The literary scholar and writer Ruth Klüger has been pondering this question from the very beginning. She published her answers to this question for the first time in 1996 under the title »Women Read Differently«. When Klüger uses this impetus to read authors such as Grimmelshausen, Goethe, Kleist, Stifter, Schnitzler and Kästner against the grain, she combines literary expertise with verve, humour and a high level of great writing.
The original volume, compiled by Klüger herself in 1996, is at the heart of this edition. Expanded by a more recent, previously unpublished essay from her estate: »›A man must tell me this‹. Kleist’s image of women«.
»Women Read Differently« complements Ruth Klüger’s previous essay collections »Wer rechnet schon mit Lesern?« (2021) and »anders lesen. Frauen und Juden in der deutschen Literatur des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts« (2023).
Ruth Klüger (1931–2020) was Professor of German Philology at various American universities from 1966 to 1992, most recently at the University of California/Irvine. She gained worldwide recognition with her autobiography »weiter leben« (1992), which was translated into several languages. She has received numerous awards for her work, including ›Roswitha-Preis‹ (2006), ›Lessing-Preis des Freistaates Sachsen‹ (2007), ›Bundesverdienstkreuz erster Klasse‹ (2008), ›Ehrendoktorwürde der Universität Wien‹ (2015) and ›Bayerischer Buchpreis‹ (2016).
