My Century: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Gunter's Century
Review: This was a unique concept for a book. One hundred vignettes each taking place in a succesive year of the 20th Century and all told by a German Nobelist's perspective. Germany is the locale for most of these stories but not for all. I read this book on vacation and usually no more than one or two "years" at a sitting. I kept myself busy the rest of the time with a larger work of non-fiction. I think that approach helped because I'm not sure this is a book to be read from cover to cover in one or two sittings. It probably can be but it would be like getting drunk on fine wine. It's better to savor each sip. There is a collective theme to the World War I years that involves discussions among Grass, Remarque and another author whose name escapes me. The rest of the time the stories are relevant to their respective year but the characters, topics, and themes are all unique. Some years are informative to life at that time through a German's eye, some are interesting, a few are rather forgettable, while some are in themselves worth the price of the book. I enjoyed Grass's "Tin Drum" but struggled through "The Rat". This book would be a great introduction to anyone wanting to find out why Gunter Grass won the Nobel Prize for Literature recently. It will answer the question and leave the reader wanting to read more.