Günter Grass and his critics : from The tin drum to Crabwalk / Siegfried Mews.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mews, Siegfried.

Series:

Studies in German literature, linguistics, and culture (Unnumbered). Literary criticism in perspective.

Studies in German literature, linguistics, and culture. Literary criticism in perspective

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Grass, Günter, 1927-2015--Criticism and interpretation.

Grass, Günter.

Grass, Günter, 1927-2015.

Criticism and interpretation.

Grass, Günter, 1927-2015--Appreciation.

Criticism--Germany--History--20th century.

Criticism.

Germany.

History.

Physical Description:

viii, 426 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Rochester, N.Y. : Camden House, 2008.

Summary:

When the Swedish Academy announced that Gunter Grass had been awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize for Literature, it singled out his first novel The Tin Drum (1959, English translation 1963) as a seminal work that had signaled the postwar rebirth of German letters, auguring "a new beginning after decades of linguistic and moral destruction." Nearly fifty years after its publication, the novel's significance has been generally acknowledged: it is the uncontested favorite among Grass's works of fiction on the part of the reading public and critics alike, yet its canonical status tends to obscure the decidedly mixed and even hostile reactions it initially elicited. Along with The Tin Drum Grass's impressive body of literary work since the 1950s has spawned a cottage industry of Grass criticism, making a reliable guide through the thicket of sometimes contradictory readings a definite desideratum. Siegfried Mews fills this lacuna in Grass scholarship by way of a detailed but succinct, descriptive as well as analytical and evaluative overview of the scholarship from 1959 to 2007. Grass's politically motivated interventions in public discourse have kept him highly visible, blurring the boundaries between politics and aesthetics. Mews therefore examines not only academic criticism but also the daily and weekly press (and other news media), providing additional insight into the reception of Grass's works.

Contents:

Part 1 Danzig, Center of the Universe

1 Die Blechtrommel / The Tin Drum 15

2 Katz und Maus / Cat and Mouse 60

3 Hundejahre / Dog Years 77

4 Danziger Trilogie / The Danzig Trilogy 92

Part 2 From Danzig to the Global Stage: Grass's Fiction of the 1970s and 1980s

5 Ortlich betaubt / Local Anaesthetic 103

6 Aus dem Tagebuch einer Schnecke / From the Diary of a Snail 120

7 Der Butt / The Flounder 137

8 Das Treffen in Telgte / The Meeting at Telgte 169

9 Kopfgeburten oder Die Deutschen sterben aus / Headbirths or The Germans Are Dying Out 188

10 Die Rattin / The Rat 204

11 Zunge zeigen / Show Your Tongue 235

Part 3 After Reunification: Old Problems and New Beginnings

12 Unkenrufe / The Call of the Toad 249

13 Ein weites Feld / Too Far Afield 264

14 Mein Jahrhundert / My Century 300

15 Im Krebsgang / Crabwalk 314.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [343]-405) and index.

ISBN:

9781571130624

1571130624

OCLC:

181424200