Another Break in the Wall
Borders, walls, and migrant characters who challenge them feature prominently in the works of Hugo Hamilton, a transnational author whose German mother immigrated to Ireland after World War 2. This article focuses on the depiction of the Berlin Wall in four of his novels set in Germany. Interweaving...
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| Udgivet i: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/angles, |
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| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Sprog: | Anglais |
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Angles
2026
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| Online adgang: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:angles_12472 |
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Anglais |
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Article ou chapitre numérique |
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Hamilton Hugo littérature irlandaise mur de Berlin géocritique cartographie littéraire cartographie sensible Hamilton Hugo Irish literature Berlin Wall geocriticism literary cartography sensorial mapping |
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Hamilton Hugo littérature irlandaise mur de Berlin géocritique cartographie littéraire cartographie sensible Hamilton Hugo Irish literature Berlin Wall geocriticism literary cartography sensorial mapping Robitaillié, Audrey Another Break in the Wall |
| description |
Borders, walls, and migrant characters who challenge them feature prominently in the works of Hugo Hamilton, a transnational author whose German mother immigrated to Ireland after World War 2. This article focuses on the depiction of the Berlin Wall in four of his novels set in Germany. Interweaving personal and world histories, past and present, Hamilton explores relationships – with places as much as with people. In Surrogate City (1990), the narrative focuses on the character of Helen who has moved from Ireland to West Berlin, while the characters in The Love Test (1995) are from East Berlin and attempt to cross over to flee the Stasi. The protagonist of Disguise (2008) is in and out of Berlin in search of his own story and history. In Every Single Minute (2014), the narrator Liam takes his dying friend on a last touristic trip to the German capital. The corpus offers four different perspectives on the Berlin Wall that span a little over a decade in terms of publication, but nearly forty years with regards to the narratives: Surrogate City is set during the Cold War, The Love Test and Disguise alternate between chapters in a post-war, partitioned Germany and passages set in the aftermath of 1989, while Every Single Minute takes place in contemporary times. This study focuses on the depiction and significance of the Berlin Wall in the novels, from its historical role as a boundary between two worldviews, separating people, to its fall and the aftermath of it. The chronology of the novels reflects that of the Wall’s history and affects its depiction in the narratives. This geocritical study examines the fictional representation of a geographical place and the evolution of this portrayal. Simultaneously, the article argues for the use of sensorial mapping in literary analysis. Exemplifying it through the study of Hamilton’s novels, a case is made for this cartographical practice that subverts the conventions of the discipline in order to highlight emotions and impressions, making it all the more suited to literary geography and geocriticism. Maps are thus included to illustrate and reinforce the points made in this study, further challenging the boundaries between disciplines. |
| author |
Robitaillié, Audrey |
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Robitaillié, Audrey |
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Robitaillié, Audrey |
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Another Break in the Wall |
| title_short |
Another Break in the Wall |
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Another Break in the Wall |
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Another Break in the Wall |
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Another Break in the Wall |
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another break in the wall |
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Angles |
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2026 |
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URI:https://journals.openedition.org/angles |
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https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/1630f https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/angles/12472 |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:angles_12472 https://doi.org/10.4000/1630f urn:doi:10.4000/1630f en https://journals.openedition.org/angles/12472 2026-04-16T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/1630f https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Another Break in the Wall Angles Société des Anglicistes de l'Enseignement Supérieur info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2274-2042 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/angles Robitaillié, Audrey Hamilton Hugo littérature irlandaise mur de Berlin géocritique cartographie littéraire cartographie sensible Hamilton Hugo Irish literature Berlin Wall geocriticism literary cartography sensorial mapping Borders, walls, and migrant characters who challenge them feature prominently in the works of Hugo Hamilton, a transnational author whose German mother immigrated to Ireland after World War 2. This article focuses on the depiction of the Berlin Wall in four of his novels set in Germany. Interweaving personal and world histories, past and present, Hamilton explores relationships – with places as much as with people. In Surrogate City (1990), the narrative focuses on the character of Helen who has moved from Ireland to West Berlin, while the characters in The Love Test (1995) are from East Berlin and attempt to cross over to flee the Stasi. The protagonist of Disguise (2008) is in and out of Berlin in search of his own story and history. In Every Single Minute (2014), the narrator Liam takes his dying friend on a last touristic trip to the German capital. The corpus offers four different perspectives on the Berlin Wall that span a little over a decade in terms of publication, but nearly forty years with regards to the narratives: Surrogate City is set during the Cold War, The Love Test and Disguise alternate between chapters in a post-war, partitioned Germany and passages set in the aftermath of 1989, while Every Single Minute takes place in contemporary times. This study focuses on the depiction and significance of the Berlin Wall in the novels, from its historical role as a boundary between two worldviews, separating people, to its fall and the aftermath of it. The chronology of the novels reflects that of the Wall’s history and affects its depiction in the narratives. This geocritical study examines the fictional representation of a geographical place and the evolution of this portrayal. Simultaneously, the article argues for the use of sensorial mapping in literary analysis. Exemplifying it through the study of Hamilton’s novels, a case is made for this cartographical practice that subverts the conventions of the discipline in order to highlight emotions and impressions, making it all the more suited to literary geography and geocriticism. Maps are thus included to illustrate and reinforce the points made in this study, further challenging the boundaries between disciplines. Frontières, murs et protagonistes migrants qui les défient sont foison dans les œuvres de Hugo Hamilton, un auteur transnational dont la mère allemande immigra en Irlande après la Seconde guerre mondiale. Cet article s’intéresse à la façon dont est dépeint le mur de Berlin dans quatre de ses romans, dont l’intrigue se passe en Allemagne. Entremêlant histoires personnelles et mondiale, passé et présent, Hamilton explore les liens, entre les personnes autant qu’avec des lieux. Dans Surrogate City (1990, traduit par Berlin sous la Baltique), le récit est centré sur le personnage de Helen, qui a immigré d’Irlande à Berlin Ouest, tandis que les protagonistes de The Love Test (1995, non traduit en français) sont de Berlin Est et tentent d’échapper à la Stasi en passant la frontière. Le personnage principal de Disguise (2008, traduit par Comme personne) va et vient entre Berlin et le reste du monde, en quête de sa propre histoire. Dans Every Single Minute (2014, traduit par Un Voyage à Berlin), le narrateur Liam emmène son amie mourante pour un dernier séjour touristique dans la capitale allemande. Le corpus présente quatre perspectives différentes sur le mur de Berlin, s’étalant sur un peu plus d’une décennie en termes de publication, mais sur presque quarante ans en ce qui concerne l’action de ces romans : Surrogate City se déroule pendant la Guerre Froide, The Love Test et Disguise alternent entre des chapitres situés dans l’Allemagne divisée de l’après-guerre et ceux qui se passent après 1989, alors que le décor de Every Single Minute est celui de l’Allemagne contemporaine. Cette étude s’articule autour de la description du mur de Berlin et de ses enjeux dans les romans, de son rôle historique de frontière entre deux visions du monde qui séparait les habitants à sa chute et ses conséquences. La chronologie des romans reflète l’histoire du mur et affecte sa représentation dans ces œuvres. Cette étude géocritique examine les représentations fictionnelles de ce lieu géographique et leur évolution. Dans le même temps, cet article plaide pour l’utilisation de la cartographie sensible dans l’analyse littéraire. Au travers de l’exemple des romans de Hamilton, cette pratique cartographique est mise en avant : elle consiste à renverser les conventions de la discipline pour mettre en lumière émotions et ressentis, ce qui la rend particulièrement adaptée à la géographie littéraire et à la géocritique. Ce travail inclut donc des cartes pour illustrer et renforcer les arguments développés, remettant un peu plus en question les frontières entre les disciplines. |