ALZHEIMER, THE UNPRONOUNCEABLE GERMAN

The article brings together various novels dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. Essentially, these are David Wagner’s Der vergessliche Riese (The Forgetful Giant) and Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s Ainda estou aqui (I am still here), one in German and one in Brazilian Portuguese. Evidence is presented that suggests a kind of parallel logic in the universe of people with Alzheimer’s disease. And attention is drawn to the multifaceted connection between forgetting and remembering. The memories are on the one hand more of a private nature (Wagner), on the other hand they are more political and historical (Paiva).

Keywords
Alzheimer’s disease; David Wagner; Marcelo Rubens Paiva; Military dictatorship