Book of the month 2003

© Harvest

On 30.January 1945 the liner Wilhelm Gustloff sank in the bay of Danzig having been hit by a Russian torpedo. On board were 9000 refugees half of whom were children. Only a few hundred survived this "biggest shipping catastrophe of all times".

In his new novel Im Krebsgang Günter Grass tells the story of the sinking refugee ship. Immitating the lateral and retreating movements of the crab and thus creating a successful narrative structure the book deals with a taboo topic of German history: The mass flight from the Eastern German Territories.

Paul Pokriefke, the narrator, was born during the night of the disaster. His 17 year old mother, Tulla, was among the few survivors, but her hair turned white as she witnessed the horror of death on the sinking ship. Tulla speaks as an eyewitness. She wants to tell her story. The main narrator, however, is her son Paul, who as a journalist, gives an objective and fully researched account given that the gruesomeness of mass death is beyond description.

Paul's "employer" is mentioned as a man from an older generation who for quite some time has felt the moral obligation to engage in this difficult task. Through him the author himself seems to addresss the reader: "Never should such grief have been concealed by silence, this taboo topic been left to the far right because expressing guilt and remorse assumed greater urgency in those years.

Paul's son, Konrad, gives the view of the third generation. Thus the historical catastrophe is given the contemporary setting. For Konrad Pokriefke, is a neo nazi, who via the internet, expresses the "injustice" done to the German people. His view reflects how the right wing extremist scene has distorted the refugee topic for its own purposes.

Through its various voices the novel deals convincingly with this difficult and explosive topic. It is objectively and at the same time grippingly narrated. The 216 pages make the novel a compact and condensed text. Since its publication in February 2002 Grass' novel has successfully led the bestseller lists.

AK

Bibliografic Details
German	English Translation
Hardcover: Grass, Günter: Im Krebsgang. Steidl, Göttingen, 2002 ISBN 3-88243-800-2 EUR 18,00	Hardcover: Grass, Günter: Crabwalk. Harvest, New York, 2003 ISBN 0151007640 EUR 21,00
Paperback: Grass, Günter: Im Krebsgang. DTV, München, 2004 ISBN 3-423-13176-4 EUR 18,00	Paperback: Grass, Günter: Crabwalk. Harvest, New York, 2003 ISBN 0156029707 EUR 13,90
Audio-CD: Grass, Günter: Im Krebsgang. DHV, München, 2002 ISBN 3-89584-952-9 EUR 79,95	Audio-CD: Not available yet.