Nahtoderfahrung in der deutschen Gegenwartsliteratur

Abstract

A near-death experience is a very enigmatic process in a human life. In the past ten years numerous German novelists have described epic dreams or real visions of a journey through the afterlife. Their near-death accounts contain similar themes. By analyzing the narratives of the acclaimed novelists like D. Wellershoff, U. Timm, D. Kehlmann, S. Lewitscharoff, S. Nadolny, P. Roth, U. Widmer it is possible to investigate and interpret the literary portrayals of near-death scenarios in the context of theological theories. In addition to writing a short history of such fictional near-death experiences the author of the scientific article builds bridges between German novelists and Christian theologians like K.-J. Kuschel, H. Küng, H. Kessler or K. Rahner.