This trilogy delves into the depths of memory, chronicling the formation of an individual's identity from early childhood through young adulthood. The author reconstructs pivotal life moments with honesty and a rich imagination, encompassing wartime experiences and artistic beginnings. It is an intimate confession about the search for self, love, and art, resonating with readers through its humanity and humor.
Peeling the Onion is a searingly honest account of Grass' modest upbringing in Danzig, his time as a boy soldier fighting the Russians, and the writing of his masterpiece, The Tin Drum, in Paris. It is a remarkable autobiography and, without question, one of Gunter Grass' finest works. By the Nobel Prize- winning author of The Tin Drum.
In this delightful sequel to Peeling the Onion, G�nter 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, accusatory - they piece together an intimate picture of this most public of men. To say nothing of Marie, Grass's assistant, a family friend of many years, perhaps even a lover, whose snapshots taken with an old-fashioned Agfa box camera provide the author with ideas for his work. But her images offer much more. They reveals a truth beyond the ordinary details of life, depict the future, tell what might have been, grant the wishes in visual form of those photographed. The children speculate on the nature of this magic: was the enchanted camera a source of inspiration for their father? Did it represent the power of art itself? Was it the eye of God? 'With his magical story of Marie's all-seeing camera, he transforms the facts of his headlong but loving life into something far more potent than reportage' Sunday Herald 'A short, often charming book...richly comic' The Times 'Beautifully-written sequel to Peeling the Onion' Daily Telegraph
As the Berlin Wall crumbled and the two Germanys became one, Grass was one of a few who spoke out against reunification. In this collection of speeches and debates on the factors destined to reshape Europe, he is caustic, indignant, reflective, and compelling. Translated by Krishna Winston with A. S. Wensinger. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book