Walker (German, Birbeck College, London) contends that the distinguishing capacity of German narrative realism, and the source of its contribution to the European tradition, is to show how the power of society works most effectively through its psychological representation in the consciousness of its members. This is pretty much the diametric opposite of the conventional view, he acknowledges, and sets about to defend it. His topics include Gottfried Keller's Der grüne Heinrich, the end of inwardness in Willhelm Raabe's Pfisters Mühle, and the realism of history in Der Stechlin and Vor dem Sturm. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)