Animal Triste, published in 1996, is a

German-language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is a ...

novel by author

Monika Maron Monika Maron (born 3 June 1941 in Berlin) is a German author, formerly of the German Democratic Republic. Biography She moved in 1951 from West to East Berlin with her stepfather, Karl Maron, the GDR Minister of the Interior. She studied theatre ...

, which took its name from a

Latin phrase This is a list of Wikipedia articles of Latin phrases and their translation into English. To view all phrases on a single, lengthy document, see: List of Latin phrases (full). Lists of pages * List of Latin phrases (A) * List of Latin phrases ( ...

: "''Triste est omne animal post coitum, præter mulierem gallumque''" meaning "Every animal is sad after

coitus Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the Erection, erect male Human penis, penis inside the female vagina and followed by Pelvic thrust, thrusting motions for sexual pleasure ...

except the human female and the rooster." The novel is about a love affair between an anonymous female

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

from the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, the protagonist and the narrator, and a male hymenopterologist from the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

in the wake of the fall of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

. The major themes of the novel are the identity crisis due to fundamental historical, political, and social changes after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the "symbolic representation of the difficulties of unitying the two German states", and the love and sexuality in old ages.

References

{{reflist

External links

DW book expert David Levitz on 'Animal Triste' by Monika Maron
1996 German novels German-language novels Novels by Monika Maron

See also

References

External links