by Günther Grass
I had this book forever on my bookshelf. Finally I read it. But in my opinion too late since the story is very much anchored in certain Zeitgeist. The early eighties in Germany. It deals a lot with the specific political situation back then. Therefore I wouldn’t call it a great novel despite of the brilliant language. Grass invented this specific flavor for this book.
The big theme is the environmental pollution and the nuclear armament race between the East and the West – with Germany in the eye of the hurricane. The story is told in many time levels and with three almost independent groups of persons. One time level is after the big crash (the nuclear holocaust). Only one human survives orbiting the earth in a satellite, and he arguments with an old rat about the interpretation of the history. rats survived the big crash – it seems the rat is right.
The dying forrest is another hot topic. In the book, the characters from the bother Grimm fairy tales try to save it with a movie they want to shot. Very funny to see them in an environmental activist context. To add even more quotations, the movie is produced by Oskar Mazareth, the main character in “The Thin Drum”. he goes back to Danzig where the “the This Drum” is taking place. And Danzig is the stage for a major confrontation between rats and human-rat hybrids after the big crash. The hybrids came with a ocean research ship, which was before used by a bunch of women who wanted to investigate the jelly fish population in the polluted Baltic sea. That was the third independent group of persons in the novel. But actually they were in search for Vineta – a legendary sunken city. When they find it, the big crash happens.
I think the first half of the book is very entertaining despite of the zeitgeist. But later on the basic ideas are too often repeated.
The big theme is the environmental pollution and the nuclear armament race between the East and the West – with Germany in the eye of the hurricane. The story is told in many time levels and with three almost independent groups of persons. One time level is after the big crash (the nuclear holocaust). Only one human survives orbiting the earth in a satellite, and he arguments with an old rat about the interpretation of the history. rats survived the big crash – it seems the rat is right.
The dying forrest is another hot topic. In the book, the characters from the bother Grimm fairy tales try to save it with a movie they want to shot. Very funny to see them in an environmental activist context. To add even more quotations, the movie is produced by Oskar Mazareth, the main character in “The Thin Drum”. he goes back to Danzig where the “the This Drum” is taking place. And Danzig is the stage for a major confrontation between rats and human-rat hybrids after the big crash. The hybrids came with a ocean research ship, which was before used by a bunch of women who wanted to investigate the jelly fish population in the polluted Baltic sea. That was the third independent group of persons in the novel. But actually they were in search for Vineta – a legendary sunken city. When they find it, the big crash happens.
I think the first half of the book is very entertaining despite of the zeitgeist. But later on the basic ideas are too often repeated.
Facts:
English title: The Rat
Original title: Die Rättin
Published: 1986
