The greatest German novel since the end of World War II, The Tin Drum is the autobiography of Oskar Matzerath, thirty years old, detained in a mental hospital, convicted of a murder he did not commit. On the day of his third birthday, Oskar had "declared, resolved, and determined �to� stop right there, remain as I was, stay the same size, cling to the same attire" (striped pullover and patent-leather shoes). That same day Oskar receives his first tin drum, and from then on it is the means of his expression, allowing him ...
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The greatest German novel since the end of World War II, The Tin Drum is the autobiography of Oskar Matzerath, thirty years old, detained in a mental hospital, convicted of a murder he did not commit. On the day of his third birthday, Oskar had "declared, resolved, and determined �to� stop right there, remain as I was, stay the same size, cling to the same attire" (striped pullover and patent-leather shoes). That same day Oskar receives his first tin drum, and from then on it is the means of his expression, allowing him to draw forth memories from the past as well as judgments about the horrors, injustices, and eccentricities he observes through the long nightmare of the Nazi era. As that era ebbs bloodily away, as drum succeeds drum, Oskar participates in the German postwar economic miracle -- working variously in the black market, as an artist's model, in a troupe of traveling musicians. With the onset of affluence and fame, Oskar decides to grow a few inches, only to develop a humpback. But despite his newfound status (and stature), Oskar remains haunted by the deaths of his parents, afflicted by his responsibility for past sins -- and so assumes guilt for a murder he did not commit as an act of atonement and an opportunity to find consolation.The rhythms of Oskar's drums are intricate and insistent, and they lead us, often by way of shocking fantasies, through the dark forest of German history. Through Oskar's piercing, outspoken voice and deformed little figure, through the imaginative distortion and exaggeration of historical experience, a pathetically hilarious yet startlingly true portrayal of the human situation comes into view.
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Add this copy of The Tin Drum to cart. $6.99, good condition, Sold by Firefly Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Kutztown, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Pantheon.
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Add this copy of The Tin Drum to cart. $8.97, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Pantheon.
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Add this copy of The Tin Drum to cart. $20.00, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Pantheon.
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Good. Dust jacket in acceptable condition. Book club edition. Shelf and handling wear to cover and binding, with general signs of previous use. CLEAN COVER AND CONTENT PAGES. New protective mylar applied to dust jacket before shipping. Secure packaging for safe delivery.
Add this copy of The Tin Drum to cart. $20.00, like new condition, Sold by Maxwell's House of Books rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from La Mesa, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Pantheon.
Add this copy of The Tin Drum to cart. $23.00, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Pantheon.
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Good. Dust jacket in acceptable condition. First edition THUS. Shelf and handling wear to cover and binding, with general signs of previous use. This is an original 1963 First Edition. Boards betray fading and nicks and other signs of wear and imperfection commensurate with age. Binding is tight and structurally sound. Pages without any extraneous marks. New mylar added to ensure future enjoyment. Secure packaging for safe delivery.
Add this copy of The Tin Drum to cart. $24.00, like new condition, Sold by Garys Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Apache Junction, AZ, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Pantheon.
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Fine in Fine jacket. Book First Special edition, First printing. Not price clipped. NOT REMAINDER marked. NOT ex library. Not Book Club. Dust jacket in protective cover. Shipped in a box. Number line starting with a (1). Fine/Fine.
Add this copy of The Tin Drum to cart. $24.56, very good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Pantheon Books.
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Very Good. Very Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp.
This novel deserves its reputation as a landmark work. It is innovative, amusing, haunting, musical and with an impressive storyline. There is a constant shift in the narration between the first- and third-person. In an essay Grass wrote, he says that sometimes Oskar wants to talk and sometimes not. Many readers seem to get carried away with the ?commentary on wartime Germany? but the real beauty lies within the prose and style. The initial setting is in an asylum and there one meets several important characters. The story is almost entirely a flashback, beginning with potato fields and the Polish region of Kashubia. The grandmother and her many skirts are memorable and some implied unusual sexual situations do keep the reader?s attention. The card game skat seems to constantly come up. Indeed, this is a connection between the characters in several parts, including one in which a post office is being bombed and one player?s life is ending. A scene with eels is at once revolting and arousing, with a woman accompanied by her husband, her lover and an eeler with a horsehead. Grass? skill with words is what sets the book apart. An entire chapter deals with a cat named Bismark and each paragraph begins by repeating the same phrase. This technique creates a rhythm that brings the reader sliding along. Rushdie?s Midnight?s Children makes use of this in chapters on snakes and ladders and saffron and green. Oskar?s musical talent affects many things and eventually leads to the formation of a jazz band. This turns up in the Dog Years. His relations with his sitter who becomes his father?s squeeze add another intriguing sexual aspect that is unexpected but extremely well expressed in terms of fizz powder and drum sticks. This type of thing happens often with Grass. The end returns to the asylum. The last few scenes of the novel are quite perplexing and still leave me wondering if I have followed Gunter completely. This is his first major book and later works seem to wrap up much better. This is an impressive work, in every way. One should continue with Cat and Mouse and the Dog Years. Apparently, there is more to be enjoyed when read in German, as the Kashubian dialect adds a wonderfully musical quality to the story. The translation is excellent, in my view and I would recommend this to any serious reader.
Ange1oBear
Apr 11, 2007
In The Tin Drum, Gunter Grass has written a slightly absurd, somewhat bizarre, and extremely engaging masterpiece. The autobiography of a mental patient born just before the Nazi's rise to power, The Tin Drum is a story of a willful outsider, one who simply refuses to grow any older, abhorring adults as he does.
One of the defining qualities of the book is the fact that it is told by the main character Oskar, a resident of a mental institution. It almost becomes a game, trying to figure out what really happened using only his account. To hear him tell it, he was fully mature intellectually from the moment he was born, and far superior to his "presumptive" fathers. He willfully decides to stunt his own growth - the fact that he fell down the stairs is a coincidence. Though he is a strange character of questionable mental stability, Oskar manages to make very perceptive statements about life and living it through the course of the book.
Grass's writing style is here very fitting. The narrative will often digress into a jazz-like fugue on a word or idea, mimicking Oskar's tin drum. My translation was by Ralph Manheim, and according to my German-speaking friend is faithful to the original. I think it is a wonderful translation, and only wish that I could read German, to capture the full effect of Grass's writing.