Frame and Preparation
Abbas Khider’s Der falsche Inder (2008) Module
Conceptual Frames and Background
- border crossing, migration, flight
- transit
- multidirectional memory
- narrative re-telling
- Arab-German studies
Introduction
Published in 2008, Der falsche Inder is Abbas Khider’s debut novel. It features a frame narrative, told from the perspective of an unnamed intradiegetic narrator, which consists of just four pages at the beginning and five pages at the end. This frame takes place predominantly on an ICE train from Berlin to Munich, at the beginning of which this narrator happens upon and eventually claims a manuscript titled “Errinerungen.” The middle 148 pages of Der falsche Inder consist of this found text, written by the novel’s metadiegetic narrator Rasul Hamid, and details his experiences as a political prisoner fleeing from Iraq to Germany, where he receives asylum. This manuscript found in Der falsche Inder subverts expectations of a linear univocal narrative by re-presenting the same basic story with slightly altered foci in each of its eight core chapters. Through and within this structure, the novel thematizes questions of narrative, identity and identification, and the impact of transient historical and social contextualization.
The novel presents countless border crossings, depicts refugees and migrants in numerous locations of transit, and is laden with historical references mediated via destabilized national perspectives.
While the module as a whole focuses on Der falsche Inder, a similar lesson provides materials to perform this pre-reading activity with Hussain al-Mozany’s novel Der Marschländer: Bagdad, Beirut, Berlin (Frankfurt am Main: Glaré Verlag, 1999), as well.
Potential Expansions to the Lesson
- This lesson is the first of a series of lessons in this database that build on each other. Lessons will be linked once they are finalized and published:
- the first lesson (this one) introduces the novel and module;
- the second lesson and third lesson involve close readings of selections;
- the fourth lesson works on listening comprehension through a Hörspiel version of Der falsche Inder.
- This lesson could be further expanded in the following ways:
- Pairing Der falsche Inder with Hussain al-Mozany’s novel Der Marschländer: Bagdad – Beirut – Berlin (1999) would allow for a broader discussion of literary narrative techniques to engage with complex, transnational historical events. Reading them in conversation would allow you to centers questions about how histories are communicated and interpellated among populations.
- Some scholars, notably Sarah Fortmann-Hijazi, argue that Der falsche Inder is autofiction because of similarities between Hamid’s story and Khider’s life. While an autofictive reading could be productive, these lessons focus on other elements and ways of engaging with the novel. Expanding this lesson to a fuller module on Khider, however, would benefit from questions of genre and the potential roles of autofiction, memoir, or semi-autobiographical creative writing.
Text and Discussion
Overview
This lesson plan focuses on preparing students for reading excerpts from the novel. These are essentially pre-reading activities to prepare students to look at certain themes and to begin cultivating necessary vocabulary for discussing the novel.
It features two discussions: 1) a discussion focusing on the book cover, 2) a reading activity and discussion based on short descriptions of each novel.
Khider, Abbas. Der falsche Inder. Hamburg: Edition Nautilus Verlag, 2008.
Teil 1: der Buchumschlag
As a pre-reading in-class activity, display each title and book cover in class. Some potential questions to ask:
- Welche Wörter oder Assoziationen wecken die Buchumschlagen?
- Collect answers to generate an initial vocabulary list for students.
- Some words that could be useful are included in the following vocabulary list but solicit potential words from students prior to providing them with a completed list.
- Welche Orte werden erwähnt oder gezeigt?
- Kennt ihr diese Orte?
- Wie werden die Orte dargestellt? Wie werden sie im Verhältnis zueinander dargestellt?
- Gibt es neue Wörter oder Assoziationen, die ihr für unsere Vokabelliste sammeln möchtet?
- Return to collecting words for the initial vocabulary list to conclude this warm up activity.
Teil 2: der Klappentext
Below is a simple worksheet with a paragraph synopsis of each novel and a series of vocabulary words for students to look up. This could be adapted to be a homework assignment, as desired. Working with partners, students should:
- Partners read aloud the first synopsis, alternating turns either by sentence or paragraph depending on the pair’s preference.
- Partners look up the words included in the table following the synopsis.
- Coming back together as a group, the instructor will read aloud the first synopsis.
- Pause every few sentences to check for general comprehension. Students will not understand everything, but we are looking for a general comprehension of themes.
- You could translate a few sentences as a group as instructor sees fit and depending on time.
Diskussion: Was steht im Klappentext?
- Welche Wörter, Themen oder Motive werden in beiden Zusammenfassungen erwähnt?
- Was erwartet ihr in Der falsche Inder zu lesen?
- Wo spielt das Buch?
- Wer sind mögliche Figuren?
- usw.
Diskussion: Was ist das Schicksal?
- Was ist das Schicksal?
- Welche Rolle spielt das Schicksal in ihrem Leben?
- Glaubt ihr an das Schicksal?
- Können Menschen ihr Schicksal ändern? Können Menschen ihre Zukunft kontrollieren?
- Welche Dinge beeinflussen die Zukunft, die Entscheidungen und die Möglichkeiten der Menschen?
Developed by Veronica Cook Williamson.