U tijelu

The novel In the Flesh (Leibhaftig) is one of the most intimate and powerful works by the German author Christa Wolf. Set in the late 1980s—shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall—the story follows an unnamed protagonist lying in a poorly equipped East German hospital, gravely ill and on the verge of death. Her body is ravaged by a severe infection and sepsis, and thus her physical struggle for survival becomes intertwined with an internal psychological drama. Through states of delirium, the effects of anesthesia, and the surfacing of memories, the protagonist delves into her own past, examining her sense of guilt, her experience of "absence," and the moral compromises she made under the socialist regime of the GDR. Her physical illness serves as a metaphor for the decay of society, the collapse of an ideology, and the internal disintegration of the system in which she lived. Amidst medical procedures, the doctors striving to save her, and her own personal demons, her individual trauma converges with a pivotal historical turning point. Translated into Croatian in 2003 (published by Profil, translated by Lucija Stamać), this short yet profoundly deep novel offers a compelling portrayal of the inextricable link between human corporeality, the psyche, and political reality.