Montauk

Montauk is a story by Swiss writer Max Frisch. It first appeared in 1975 and takes an exceptional position in Frisch's work. While fictional stories previously served Frisch for exploring the possible behavior of his protagonists, in Montauk, he tells an authentic experience: a weekend which he spent with a young woman in Montauk on the American East Coast. The short-run love affair is used by Frisch as a retrospective on his own biography. In line with Philip Roth he tells his "life as a man", relates to the women with whom he was associated, and the failure of their relationship. Further reflections apply to the author's age and his near-death and the mutual influence of life and work. Also, the story is about the emergence of Montauk: in contrast to his previous work Frisch describes his decision to document this weekend's direct experience without adding anything. Montauk met with strongly polarized reception. When faced by the open descriptions of their past, former partners of Frisch felt duped. Some readers were embarrassed by Frisch's self-exposure. Other critics hailed the story as his most important work and praised the achievement to make a literary masterpiece of his own life. Marcel Reich-Ranicki adopted Montauk in his Canon of German literature. The 2017 film Return to Montauk by Volker Schlöndorff and Colm Tóibín was inspired by the novel. Contents The frame story of the narrative describes the Montauk weekend of 11 and 12 May 1974, that ends a book-signing tour of the narrator, the literary image of his Author Max Frisch, through the United States. Two days later, one day before his 63rd birthday, Frisch's return to Europe is scheduled. At his side is Lynn, a 30-year-old publisher employee who is signed to serve him throughout the trip, but has not read one line from the author's work. On their last weekend Lynn and Frisch come closer together and take a trip to Long Island, New York, to the village of Montauk on the Atlantic coast. For the author this weekend sparks the desire to describe the shared days, without any addition. The presence of Lynn triggers reflections and memories in Frisch. He ponders on age and his growing feeling to be an imposition for others, his success and its effect on enviers, admirers and women. Frisch discloses intimate details of his life, the death of his mother, his impotence and four abortions of three women.