"Although the East German government was able to suppress overt dissident movements like those in Poland and Czechoslovakia, and despite the decades-long imposition of artistic orthodoxy in the form of Socialist Realism, the regime failed to stop innovative writers from developing literary strategies of dissent that ultimately weakened its grip on power.

One such writer was playwright and novelist Christoph Hein, who enjoyed tremendous popularity in both Germanies during the 1980s, and who remains the East's most successful post-unification writer. Critical both of Soviet-style communism and Western consumer capitalism, Hein chose to remain in East Germany and work toward liberalization of the communist system."--BOOK JACKET.

"Robinson analyzes Hein's plays, short stories, and novels within a context of East German political intrigue and cultural policy. He devotes particular attention to Hein's prose fiction, which has achieved Anglo-American recognition with the translation of two novels. The Distant Lover and The Tango Player."--BOOK JACKET.