{"id":511,"date":"2015-03-21T20:17:25","date_gmt":"2015-03-21T19:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/?p=511"},"modified":"2025-09-12T17:42:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T15:42:22","slug":"bildungsroman-was-jugendliteratur-und-krieg-und-frieden-gemeinsam-haben","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/2015\/03\/bildungsroman-what-youth-literature-and-war-and-peace-have-in-common\/","title":{"rendered":"Bildungsroman: What youth literature and war and peace have in common"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Anyone following my Twitter account<\/a> knows that I love Arte\u2019s BiTS magazine. One excellent segment covers the Bildungsroman \u2014 novels in which a young protagonist must find their own identity within their social and societal context, overcoming certain obstacles along the way. It\u2019s about growing up and discovering who you are.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Arte presents this genre of books, which have become immensely popular (with examples like Harry Potter<\/em> and The Hunger Games<\/em>), in the broader context of adolescence \u2014 a phase that, according to experts, now lasts much longer than in previous generations. Particularly the blurred line between adults and youth, as many adults themselves display increasingly youthful behavior, delays and complicates this process.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I find the question fascinating because it\u2019s striking how popular young adult literature is among book bloggers \u2014 including related genres like vampire stories and dystopias, which often function as Bildungsromane in disguise. So is it true? Are these books so beloved because their protagonists go through experiences we ourselves faced at a young age? I think so, to some extent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But why are so many adults captivated by these books? Because they never fully grew up? Because they\u2019re caught somewhere in between? Or because they consciously seek out the sense of youth and escapism these stories offer? Or \u2014 to put it bluntly \u2014 is it simply that the general educational level is declining, and the broader readership can no longer engage with more demanding literature? It\u2019s an intriguing question. I haven\u2019t formed a firm opinion yet; I\u2019ll need to read more books in this genre first.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What I can say, however, is that the Bildungsroman is undoubtedly an outstanding literary form, and reading one is almost always a pleasure. The best example, in my view, is War and Peace<\/em> by Leo Tolstoy. When you look at the characters Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov, it quickly becomes clear that, shaped by the war, they undergo profound personal transformations. Their development isn\u2019t about youth but about adulthood \u2014 questions of life\u2019s meaning, social values, political attitudes, and philosophical outlooks. The process of moral and intellectual growth is a central theme here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Perhaps the modern Young Adult novel isn\u2019t so new after all \u2014 maybe it\u2019s simply the reappearance of an old idea in a new guise, albeit in a lighter and more digestible form.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The topic is fascinating, and Arte\u2019s segment once again highlights how difficult it is to fully grasp these cultural shifts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What do you think about this topic? Do you consider the Young Adult trend total nonsense? A pleasant diversion? Have you mostly ignored these books so far (as I have)? Or are you an enthusiastic fan?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Here\u2019s the highly recommended episode (each installment is only about 10 minutes long, so it won\u2019t take much of your time): BildungsRoman \u2013 BiTS by Arte<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anyone following my Twitter account knows that I love Arte\u2019s BiTS magazine. One excellent segment covers the Bildungsroman \u2014 novels in which a young protagonist must find their own identity within their social and societal context, overcoming certain obstacles along the way. It\u2019s about growing up and discovering who you are. Arte presents this genre … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Bildungsroman: What youth literature and war and peace have in common”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"slim_seo":{"title":"Bildungsroman: Was Jugendliteratur und Krieg und Frieden gemeinsam haben - lesestunden","description":"Wer meinen Twitter Account folgt, der wei\u00df, dass ich das BiTS Magazin von Arte liebe. Einen hervorragenden Beitrag gibt es \u00fcber den Bildungsroman, also B\u00fccher,"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","hentry","category-general","post_format-post-format-video"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11103,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511\/revisions\/11103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}