Well, I first encountered The Tin Drum when I was studying German in college (I would have majored in German had it been possible) and was not impressed, thought it derivatively modernist. As for Pound, I don't much like him, either. I think he had a tin ear a lot of the time. That said, I would certainly agree "that nothing about Germans' actions and reactions under the Nazi regime is simple" (Daniel Goldhagen notwithstanding). Just the other day I quoted this from Michael Kennedy, the classical music critic of The Telegraph: "I lived through the whole of the Nazi period," he writes. "I have vivid recollections of [those] years . . . and know how different attitudes to the Nazis were. . . . I find insufferable the smug holier-than-thou attitude of people who know with such certainty how honorably and courageously they would have behaved. " Nevertheless, as you say, "Grass's hypocrisy, duplicity and sheer opportunism are despicable."
So how come nobody can read The Flounder but everyone's all atwitter about Kinkenborg's Timothy? Same turgid style ("wow! great! a tortoise with a big vocabulary and uses semicolons!"), same lack of story. Gunter Grass is yesterday's papers -- why do we make such a big deal of own own ponderous hacks?
Well, I first encountered The Tin Drum when I was studying German in college (I would have majored in German had it been possible) and was not impressed, thought it derivatively modernist. As for Pound, I don't much like him, either. I think he had a tin ear a lot of the time.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I would certainly agree "that nothing about Germans' actions and reactions under the Nazi regime is simple" (Daniel Goldhagen notwithstanding). Just the other day I quoted this from Michael Kennedy, the classical music critic of The Telegraph: "I lived through the whole of the Nazi period," he writes. "I have vivid recollections of [those] years . . . and know how different attitudes to the Nazis were. . . . I find insufferable the smug holier-than-thou attitude of people who know with such certainty how honorably and courageously they would have behaved. "
Nevertheless, as you say, "Grass's hypocrisy, duplicity and sheer opportunism are despicable."
Having struggled, and I mean struggled, through a couple of his books a long time ago, I smile to read your post, Frank, and your comment, Arthur.
ReplyDeleteAnd your comment, too, Frank. It wasn't there when I wrote mine, they must have "crossed in the aether" if that is the correct expression.
ReplyDeleteSo how come nobody can read The Flounder but everyone's all atwitter about Kinkenborg's Timothy? Same turgid style ("wow! great! a tortoise with a big vocabulary and uses semicolons!"), same lack of story. Gunter Grass is yesterday's papers -- why do we make such a big deal of own own ponderous hacks?
ReplyDeleteWell, Kinkenborg is a member of the New York Times Editorial board. Maybe that has something to do with it.
ReplyDelete