Peeling the Onion is a searingly honest memoir that evokes Grass' modest upbringing in Danzig, his time as a boy soldier fighting the Russians and concludes with the writing of his... more
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Peeling the Onion is a searingly honest memoir that evokes Grass' modest upbringing in Danzig, his time as a boy soldier fighting the Russians and concludes with the writing of his masterpiece, "The Tin Drum", in Paris. Grass' parents ran a corner shop, but his mother, whom he adored, encouraged him towards books and music. Like most of his peers, he joined the Hitler Youth and in 1944, when he was just 17, he was sent to the Eastern front with the Waffen SS and found himself facing Russian tanks and machine guns. Recovering from shrapnel wounds in a military hospital, he had the good fortune to be taken prisoner by the Americans.In the aftermath of the war, following a stint as a miner, Grass survived by trading on the black market and resolved to become an artist, eventually enrolling at the Academy of Arts in Dusseldorf. While living as an artist in Berlin with his first wife Anna, a ballet dancer, he started to concentrate on writing poetry. It was after the couple moved to Paris that the first sentence of the novel he had been determined to write and that would make his reputation came to him: 'Granted: I am an inmate of a mental hospital'."Peeling the Onion" is the story of a remarkable life and is, without question, one of Gunter Grass' finest works.
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
somewhat helpful 07.07.2000
Banned in the USA Review ofThe Tin Drum - GunterGrassby
alexandrapontecaille
Advantages: show part of history, breathtaking, dramatic story but exceptionnal, excellent acting Disadvantages: sad, some odscene passages
...Watch this film was part of my German course when I was 15. My teacher first warned us about the contents in order to avoid any bad surprises. She also mentioned it was censured in America despite it was an award-winning film. I seriously started to wonder about it…
It was written by Jean Claude Carriere and Volker Schlondorff and was based on the novel by GunterGrass called “Die Blechtrommel”, “The Tin Drum” in English. It was made in 1979 and lasts over 2 hours.
It is the upsetting story of troubled boy Oskar Matzerath (who narrates the film) growing up in Eastern Germany under the Nazi period around 1930 and who decides not to grow up as an adult because he doesn’t want to become a bad person. He witnesses so much cruelty and ignorance in this torn world...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
helpful 01.07.2001
Ice and Fire Clash Review ofSnow Storms in a Hot Climate - Sarah Dunantby
DoubleFantasy11
Advantages: Intelligent thrillerwith strong female characters Disadvantages: Might be too complex if you prefer a lighter read
....
Lenny is a fantastic character: charming, gorgeous and arrogant; intelligent, mistrusting and taciturn. He never lets anyone get too close for comfort. He develops strange obsessions with obscure academic subjects - he's reading Meeting at Telgte by GunterGrass when Marla first sees him - and comes from a family so wealthy that there's no financial need (or much incentive) to risk trafficking cocaine for a living.
The reader is always in Marla's shoes, only discovering things when she does, which is very effective in this bright, glamorous, confusing world. Nothing is spelt out: the reader has to think things through along with Marla. The answers are neither clichéd nor obvious and the conclusion is both shocking and delightfully ambiguous.
Don't be fooled by the genre: this is no throwaway read. I find myself still thinking about...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
helpful 13.11.2007
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