Synopses & Reviews
Selected from the vast range of his work, the writings included in this anthology trace Günter Grass's development as a writer, and with it the history of a nation coming to terms with its past.
Excerpts from Grass's major novels from The Tin Drum to Crabwalk are included, as are numerous short fictions, essays, and poems, many of which have never appeared before in English. Grass's gifts as an observer of and participant in the social and political landscape are justly celebrated, as are his inimitable sense of humor, his consistent defense of the disadvantaged, and his mastery of the forms of expression he has employed over the years.
For readers in search of an introduction to his work or for those familiar primarily with his novels, this diverse collection offers a fresh and stimulating introduction to one of the world's greatest living writers.
Review
"Those unfamiliar with Grass's work will enjoy this collection, but it will be necessary to look elsewhere for additional background information." Library Journal
About the Author
Born in Danzig, Germany, in 1927, G_nter Grass is a widely acclaimed author of plays, essays, poems, and numerous novels. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1999.
CHARLES SIMIC was born in Belgrade and emigrated to the United States in 1954. He is the author of many books of poetry and prose. Among other honors, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1990 and served as the Poet Laureate of the United States in 2007-2008.
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
When the LZ-126 Drew Close to New York (from MY CENTURY)
The Stockturm. Long-Distance Song Effects (from THE TIN DRUM)
In the Tunnel
Nursery Rhyme
By the Time the War Broke Out (from CAT AND MOUSE)
Execution on the Playground (from MY CENTURY)
Roll Your Own
There Was Once a City (from DOG YEARS)
Dixieland! (from MY CENTURY)
A Look Back at The Tin Drum, or: The Author as Dubious Witness
Two Left-handers
When the Wall Went Up
Operation Travel Bureau (from MY CENTURY)
I Like Riding the Escalator
On Writers as Court Jesters and on Non-existent Courts
Literature and Politics
A Father's Difficulties in Explaining Auschwitz to His Children
When Father Wanted to Remarry
Isn't It Nice to Be Rich and Famous? (from FROM THE DIARY OF A SNAIL)
A Call to the Special Unit (from MY CENTURY)
Police Radio
Israel and Me
Immured
By a Rough Estimate
Askesis
But What Is My Stone? (from HEADBIRTHS OR THE GERMANS ARE DYING OUT)
The Stone
The Artist's Freedom of Opinion in Our Society
The Last Meal (from THE FLOUNDER)
Literature and Myth
The Hare and the Hedgehog
The Destruction of Mankind Has Begun
In Posthuman Times (from THE RAT)
Bikini Atoll
Berlin-A Projected Fiction
Alexander and Alexandra (from THE CALL OF THE TOAD)
Madness! Sheer Madness! (from MY CENTURY)
The Wallpeckers (from TOO FAR AFIELD)
My Old Olivetti
Willy Brandt at the Warsaw Ghetto
Obituary for Helen Wolff
Literature and History
To Be Continued...
In the Midst of Life
I remember...
Kleckerburg
When Time Had Run Out (from CRABWALK)
After Midnight
Tango Nocturno
Tango Mortale