A poignant exploration of post–World War II life, blending fictional and non-fictional stories that challenge traditions and reflect on the enduring impact of historical disruptions. 

Lifespan Narratives has to do with stories, fictitious and not, which present a sad chronicle and question tradition from several different perspectives. Originally comprising Alexander Kluge’s first book, these stories were written between the years 1958 and 1962, in which he emphasizes the importance of continuously questioning our past. He underscores the necessity of recounting lifespan narratives even from today’s viewpoint, proposing that “life in a time of disruption” should be viewed as a constant experiential substance, transcending any single era.  

In Lifespan Narratives, readers are invited to explore the enduring impact of historical disruptions through Kluge’s masterful storytelling, which remains as relevant today as it was in the years following the Second World War. For this edition, the English translation of a selection of stories by Leila Vennewitz has been expanded by Alexander Booth in conjunction with the author. 

As past and future blur, this work from Alexander Kluge reveals the emotional and intellectual currents that drive human survival.

A kaleidoscopic journey through history and the vast landscape of human emotion, The Long March of Basic Trust presents Alexander Kluge at his most expansive and incisive. Moving seamlessly across time and space, Kluge weaves a tapestry of lived and imagined experience, interrogating the forces that shape our resilience in the face of catastrophe. From the wreckage of World War II to the deep time of geology, his singular prose dissolves boundaries between the real and the speculative.

Blurring the lines between fiction and philosophy, Kluge builds an intricate world enriched by hybrid images and his latest experiment: the “virtual camera,” a cinematic eye that captures the interplay of memory and invention. Now in his tenth decade, Kluge continues his lifelong pursuit of uncovering the patterns that connect us and the basic trust that allows us to go on. Both intellectually provocative and deeply humane, this latest installment in his Chronicle of Emotions is a testament to his unmatched ability to fuse thought and feeling into an electrifying literary form.

A highly readable and lighthearted, yet intellectual-stimulating exploration of the modern human condition.
 
This volume concerns itself with the question of time, from the description of a brief fragment passing by in a matter of minutes to stories of the unexpected stock-market crash of 1929, a once-in-a-century event that Europeans call ‘Black Friday’ because Wall Street’s collapse reached the Old World one day later. Through this exploration of time, Kluge ponders some fundamental questions not altered by the passing of time: What can I trust? How can I protect myself? What should I be afraid of? Our age today has achieved a new kind of obscurity. We’ve encountered a pandemic. We’ve witnessed the Capitol riots. We see before us inflation, war, and a burning planet. We gaze at the world with suspense. What we need in our lives is orientation—just like ships that navigate the high seas. We might just find that in Kluge’s vignettes and stories.