"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Here Grass tackles a subject that still causes unease among his countrymen: the problems of the German nation during World War Two. The central incident of the book is the sinking in 1945 (by a Soviet submarine) of the Willem Gustloff, a ship that had been converted into a refugee carrier. The loss of life in this sinking was immense, and this incident in the Baltic Sea remains the worst of all maritime disasters. The narrative is carried by Paul, a survivor of the sinking, who is now a journalist living in Berlin; his mother, Tulla, gave birth to him in a lifeboat on the doomed ship. As Paul attempts to place the disaster in the context of life in Germany today, his mother finds herself unable to shake off the crushing resonance of the incident. The generational theme is carried further by Paul's young son Konrad, who has been seduced by far-right elements in Germany which are attempting to rewrite history.
This is Grass at his considerable best: a powerful, significant theme is handled trenchantly, while the multi-generational problems of his characters are balanced against a lucid picture of the society in which they live. And despite the seriousness of his subject, Grass remains immensely readable. His books may be shorter these days, but their impact is no less forceful for that. --Barry Forshaw
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Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. Crabwalk 0.65. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9780156029704
Book Description Softcover. Condition: new. Reprint. Gnter Grass has been wrestling with Germanys past for decades now but no book since The Tin Drum has generated as much excitement as this engrossing account of the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff A German cruise ship turned refugee carrier it was attacked by a Soviet submarine in January 1945 Some 9000 people went down in the Baltic Sea making it the deadliest maritime disaster of all timeBorn to an unwed mother on a lifeboat the night of the attack Paul Pokriefke is a middleaged journalist trying to piece together the tragic events While his mother sees her whole existence in terms of that calamitous moment Paul wishes their life could have been less touched by the past For his teenage son who dabbles in the dark farright corners of the Internet the Gustloff embodies the denial of Germanys wartime sufferingScuttling backward to move forward Crabwalk is at once a captivating tale of a tragedy at sea and a fearless examination of the ways different generations of Germans now view their pastWinner of the Nobel Prize. Seller Inventory # DADAX0156029707
Book Description Condition: New. Book is in NEW condition. 0.78. Seller Inventory # 0156029707-2-1
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published 0.78. Seller Inventory # 353-0156029707-new
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. This item is printed on demand. Seller Inventory # 9780156029704
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # ABLIING23Feb2215580021903
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # I-9780156029704
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Brand New! This item is printed on demand. Seller Inventory # 0156029707
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Brand New Copy. Seller Inventory # BBB_new0156029707