Fluß ohne Ufer

Fluß ohne Ufer, a trilogy by H. H. Jahnn, the separate novels of which are Das Holzschiff (1949), Die Niederschrift des Gustav Anias Horn (2 vols., 1949-51), and Epilog (1961).

Das Holzschiff, dealing with the mysterious voyage and freight of a full-rigged ship, the Lais, and its equally mysterious crew, is externally Naturalistic but in essence is tortuously and elusively symbolical. It has even been suggested that the attempt to penetrate the supposed concealed space above the keel, by which the timbers are opened and the ship sinks stern first, is a symbol of the self-destructiveness of Jahnn's ruthless introspective self-dissection. The previously unnoticed appearance of Venus as figurehead as the ship sinks is an evidently erotic, but unintegrated, symbol. The second part (Die Niederschrift) follows two of the survivors of the sinking ship (Horn and Tutein), united in blood brotherhood, through curious and often perverted adventures. One of these two, the murderer Tutein, dies and the survivor replaces him with Ajax von Uchri. The book ends with Horn's last testament with its expression of vain desire for ‘Segen auf Wälder und Tiere’, and a postscript explains that Horn is found with battered skull, his favourite mare and dog shot, Ajax having vanished. The third part, Epilog, remained a fragment.