Oskar Matzerath, born in Danzig in 1924, decides at the age of three to stop growing and to bang on a tin drum for the rest of his life. His piercing scream can shatter glass. From a mental institution in the 1950s, he narrates his family's story: his mother's affair, the rise of the Nazis in the Free City of Danzig, the war, his small-time performances for soldiers, and the postwar flight to the West. Günter Grass mixes grotesque comedy, magical realism and an unreliable narrator to portray ordinary complicity in the Nazi years.
Readers interested in twentieth-century German history and bold, inventive fiction will find a major postwar novel. It suits those who want to see how ordinary people lived through catastrophe, and who can handle bitter satire.
Deep, open-ended and thought-provoking; a demanding read.
Best for readers like The Deep Diver. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1999
- Publisher
- Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag
- ISBN
- 9783423118217
- Language
- DE
