Ironic Discourse in Joachim Lottmann’s Endlich Kokain

Abstract

Popliteratur is characterized by the description of situations and difficulties which can beforehand seem trivial and quotidian. They can be understood as something typical of a young generation, but these descriptions help to develop tales that delve into topics such as loneliness, distortion or the need of social and economic success to achieve personal and general worth. The texts that belong to Popliteratur are riddled with references to trademarks, music and symbols of economic and social status, but they are specially riddled with ironic sentences that are used as resources to present these topics and the problems they can cause to the individual. Joachim Lottmann is one of the clearest examples of this literary style, full of irony and complex situations due to its oddness. The present article analyzes ironic discourse in the novel Endlich Kokain from the perspective of the three factors of distinction presented by Christoph Rauen: Entpflichtung, Inversion and Relativierung.