Welcome to Litsy!

Oskar Matzerath is one of the most singular characters in literature, and his unreliability as a narrator leaves one questioning everything that happens. This time around i found his ancestry and childhood fascinating in and of themselves, but the time period (1924-postwar Germany) puts another level of meaning on top of this entertaining read. Those with a knowledge of German folklore will get another layer beyond that.

This is one of the best unreliable narrators in literature. Oskar's eccentric nature made this book endearing to me. It's a book about atonement written in such a creative and subtle nature. Osakr's narration is like no other literature character.

#littledrummerboy #DecemberSong @Eggs

This book is absolutely freaking brilliant. The use of an unreliable narrator is genius. Oskar decides at the age of 3 that he's done growing up. He witnesses some truly amazing things. And he can say whatever he wants about them. The author uses Oskar as a way to give his opinion about events during and surrounding WWII without having to use an overabundance of emotion. It's also pretty comical at times.

#BookSpinBonanza book 6
@TheAromaofBooks

Set in Poland and Germany during and after WW2, this long German novel is totally bizarre, yet strangely compelling. The voice of Oskar, a midget sociopath obsessed with drumming, will live long in my imagination, thanks to the #audiobook narrated by Paul Michael Garcia. #translation by Breon Mitchell.

Today I know that all things are watching, that nothing goes unseen, that even wallpaper has a better memory than human beings.

The tagged novel sent me to an internet rabbit hole, looking for more information about the Kashubian language. Then, I learned there‘s a Pomeranian language. I don‘t know why that surprised me so much. My cousin‘s dogs (pictured above) probably understand it. 😉

In an effort to read more German books this year, I‘ve been listening to the tagged audiobook while sewing some zippered pouches out of fabric bits that I dyed in a workshop last year. #audiocrafting #readingGermanbooksin2020

This weekend‘s WSJ mag has an article about Marlon James (who I haven‘t read yet). Of course I scrutinized this photo. I don‘t know for sure if this is his library but found it interesting that there‘s several editions of The Tin Drum (which I read several years ago).

Link w/photo (may need subscription to read?) : https://www.wsj.com/articles/marlon-james-on-writing-black-leopard-red-wolf-1154...

#criterion #adaptation

I always forget how good this box art is. For the uninitiated, this is one of the first films they show you in college level German classes. Does nothing to refute the old stereotype that Germans are weird.

[11]

Magical realism is my kryptonite.

I struggled through this for ages as I‘m going to Gdańsk, where the book is set, (formerly Danzig) later this month. This book is start of the Danzig Trilogy, and is considered essential 20th century reading.

I fought my way through it, trudging to the beat of the preternaturally young Oskar‘s tin drum, but I now surrender.

Nein danke, Günter Grass.

My reading companion wants you to know that this is turning out to be a very odd book. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and I still have a lot of it to read.

This book reminds me of Midnight‘s Children by Salman Rushdie. Has anyone else read both of them?

I‘m going to Gdańsk this month, and wanted to read The Tin Drum as the book is set there. 🥁

Which books have you read to prepare for a trip - or am I the only person who does this?

#MayLovesClassics #chunksteryouread
This was a book where the film actually lived up to the novel - it's years since i read it but feel it is time for a reread and repeat viewing, particularly given the state of the world at the moment.

“I search on my drum for the land of the Poles and drum: lost, not yet lost, lost once more, lost to whom, lost too soon,lost by now, Poland‘s lost, all is lost, Poland is not yet lost.”

Tough moments ;)

Oskar decides never to grow up and he retains the stature of a child while living through WWII and its aftermath. All the time he is inseperable from his tin drum; he is willing to commit violence to retain it.
This summary doesn‘t do the book right, it is a real masterpiece!!

#rhythminside #decdays #1001books

Working my way through this marathon, one page at a time.

Probably my favourite book. Opened my eyes to a totally new way of writing. Little Oskar, like Grass himself, lived through the most tumultuous and horrific spell in history and this groundbreaking book brings it to vivid life. Imaginative, funny and often harrowing, I've never read anything quite like it. Genius

Perfect explanation for why Germany is like it is now. Wonderful moment of clarity in the 'Zwiebelkeller'.

Nobel Prize winner Günter Grass rose to fame with THE TIN DRUM, a fanciful novel that turned a critical eye on Germany in the 20th century. While Grass‘ relationship with the public has been controversial, his posthumous work, OF ALL THAT ENDS, relays all that we admire in his writing: a commitment to examining the social and political actions of a nation.

Quite possibly the best #childprotagonist ever written. Oskar Matzerath, a boy so willful that when he found out, at age 4, that he was expected to become a grocer he decided to stop growing. #photoadaynov16

Granted: I AM an inmate of a mental hospital; my keeper is watching me, he never lets me out of his sight; there's a peep-hole in the door, and my keeper's eye is the shade of brown that can never see through a blue-eyed type like me.

A day late on the #augustphotochallenge , but do translations count for the #faveauthorcollab ? This was the first translated book I ever read, so it holds a special place in my heart 💘✨