Erich Hackl

Who is Erich Hackl?

Erich Hackl is an Austrian novelist and short-story writer. His works have been translated into English, Spanish, French and Czech, though he is significantly better known in the German-speaking world. Many of his works, notably Sara und Simón, bear resemblance to Latin-American testimonial literature, and as such have been the focus of scholarly research by Latin Americanists.

His work has also been well received in the UK. A review in The Times Literary Supplement called The Wedding in Auschwitz “an exceptional book” because the author “has chosen not to conceal the documentary origins of his novel. Rather than producing a researched-based fictionalized account, honouring history and abiding by the literary conventions, he has given himself entirely to the subject … a remarkable suppression of the authorial ego … Hackl does not impose a novelist’s order … and yet the tension of the story never fails, interest never wanes. This is because Hackl understands that any ambiguity about detail is in contrast to an unshakeable sense of inevitability, and his narrative exploits what every reader must know: there will be no happy endings.”