Synopses & Reviews
In an audacious literary experiment, Günter Grass writes in the voices of his eight children as they record memories of their childhoods, of growing up, of their father, who was always at work on a new book, always at the margins of their lives. Memories contradictory, critical, loving, accusatorythey piece together an intimate picture of this most public of men. To say nothing of Marie, a photographer and family friend of many years, whose snapshots taken with an old-fashioned Agfa box camera provide the author with ideas for his work. Her images offer reveal a truth beyond the ordinary detail of life, depict the future, tell what might have been, grant the wishes of those photographed. An inspired and daring work of fiction from the always-provocative Grass.
Synopsis
In a work of great originality, Germany's most eminent writer examines the victories and terrors of the twentieth century, a period of astounding change for mankind. Great events and seemingly trivial occurrences, technical developments and scientific achievements, war and disasters, and new beginnings, all unfold to display our century in its glory and grimness. A rich and lively display of Grass's extraordinary imagination, the 100 interlinked stories in this volume-one for each year from 1900 to 1999-present a historical and social portrait for the millennium, a tale of our times in all its grandeur and all its horror.
About the Author
GÜNTER GRASS was born in Danzig, Germany, in 1927. He is the widely acclaimed author of numerous books, including The Tin Drum, My Century, Crabwalk, and Peeling the Onion. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1999.