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Little Man, What Now?

3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 · rating details · 724 ratings · 76 reviews

Since its first publication in 1933, this novel has become a world classic. It provides a vivid, poignant picture of life in Germany just before Hitler's takeover and focuses on a young married couple struggling to survive in the country's nightmarish inflation.

Paperback, 384 pages

Published August 30th 2005 by Academy Chicago Publishers (first published 1932)

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Apr 26, 2013 Alan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Alan by: Corey Mesler

Shelves: novels

although at points I felt this was rushed, as though the author was just putting down what he felt like (eg naturism an answer to economic crisis! Although that did add to its charm), this was an absorbing, fascinating read. A couple on the poverty line face life in 1932 Germany, the Weimar republic on the brink of collapse, and Nazis on the rise. The counting of every pfennig, the absurdities of the hierarchies in the various shops and offices where the unfortunate Pinneburg (sorry that may be...more

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Dec 26, 2010 Kasa Cotugno rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: era-early-mid-20th-century

Little Man, What Now? tells the story of a couple so ordinary they are immediately recognizeable to today's reader, even though the book was written in 1932, during the chaotic days of the Weimer Republic on the threshold of the Nazis' rise to power. Nazis are around, but are regarding and portrayed as thugs with the overriding concerns for the newly married couple in the center of the story being mere survival. As with Every Man Dies Alone,many minor characters are so well fleshed out rendering...more

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May 18, 2013 Jan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bezit, bezit-uitgeleend, lit-roman

"Het liep tegen de avond en de zon ging al onder. Goeienavond,' zei Pinneberg, bleef staan en keek haar aan. 'Goeienavond,' zei Emma Mörschel, bleef staan en keek hem ook aan. 'Gaat u daar liever niet heen,' zei hij en wees waar hij vandaan was gekomen. 'Daar spelen ze overal jazzmuziek en de helft is al dronken ook.' 'Ja?' zei ze. 'Maar gaat u daar ook maar liever niet heen,' zei ze en wees waar zij vandaan was gekomen. 'In Wiek is het net zo.' 'Maar wat moeten we dan doen?' vroeg hij en lachte...more "Het liep tegen de avond en de zon ging al onder. Goeienavond,' zei Pinneberg, bleef staan en keek haar aan. 'Goeienavond,' zei Emma Mörschel, bleef staan en keek hem ook aan. 'Gaat u daar liever niet heen,' zei hij en wees waar hij vandaan was gekomen. 'Daar spelen ze overal jazzmuziek en de helft is al dronken ook.' 'Ja?' zei ze. 'Maar gaat u daar ook maar liever niet heen,' zei ze en wees waar zij vandaan was gekomen. 'In Wiek is het net zo.' 'Maar wat moeten we dan doen?' vroeg hij en lachte. 'Ja, wat kunnen we doen?' vroeg zij ook. 'Hier ons broodje eten,' stelde hij voor. 'Best', zei ze."
Bij het verschijnen van Wat nu, kleine man? in 1932 verwierf Hans Fallada (1893-1947) onmiddellijk wereldfaam. Het boek werd in meerdere talen vertaald, vier maal verfilmd en herhaaldelijk bewerkt voor toneel. Ondanks het succes heeft men Fallada’s vrij bescheiden oeuvre niet altijd tot de ‘Literatuur’ gerekend. De publicatie van Alleen in Berlijn door uitgevrij Cossee in 2010 zette dit kleine euvel voor het Nederlandse taalgebied recht. Met Wat nu, kleine man? (2011) lijkt terecht een revival in de maak. De vertaling van Nico Rost uit 1932 werd door Anne Folkertsma grondig herzien en aangevuld met passages die geweerd waren uit de oorspronkelijke vertaling.
Johannes Pinneberg en Engeltje (Emma Mörschel), twee jonge twintigers, net gehuwd en met een eerste kind op komst, proberen zich overeind te houden in het Duitsland van de crisisvolle jaren 1920. Ze komen onafwendbaar in de greep van sociale neergang en werkloosheid terecht, maar ze weigeren hun menselijke waardigheid en liefde voor elkaar op te geven. Hiermee nemen ze een uitzonderlijke, maar vaak onbegrepen en zeer kwetsbare positie als buitenstaander in, volstrekt nietig tegenover krampachtig volgehouden tradities en, vooral, de razende ‘vooruitgang’, het gekonkel, de genadeloze bedrijfsethiek...
Hans Fallada beschrijft dit op het laconieke af, bijna dolkomisch soms, hij lijkt geen standpunt in te nemen. Maar met elke bladzijde neemt je mededogen en liefde voor Pinneberg en Engeltje toe. Een parel!(less)

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Apr 24, 2013 Stein rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels-historical, novels-reflective, cultural-dynamics

==About little cogs in the big wheel==
To review this book must involve crediting its accurate portrayal of historical circumstances and Fallada's own personal background which strongly flavour this novel. Pinneberg, the "little man," is enmeshed in the futility of the hand-to-mouth existence of a white-collar worker in early 1930s Germany. His wife, whom he calls Lammchen, is his sole inspiration, comforter and moral compass. The readers follow these two through Lammchen's pregnancy and the birt...more

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Jul 30, 2011 Lester rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Einer der beste Bucher die ich je gelesen habe. Fallada bildet einen sehr empathisches, emotionaler Welt, die das leben eines junge Paares zwischen den Kriegen zeichnet. Mit sehr einfache Sprache hat er es geschafft, uns das leben des kleines Mannes deutlich zu verstehen und zu erleben. Farbelhaft und emotionsreich.

I do not know if the English version (Little Man, what now?) is as fabulous as the German original, but this tale of a young couple struggling to make ends meet in Berlin during the r...more

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Aug 18, 2011 Tania Brzovic rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I read this book as part of a German Lit. in translation course. This novel provides an interesting look at Germany in the years between World War I and II. As I read it and saw got an understanding of the depths of economic depression the country was in, I began to have a better grasp of how Hitler was able to mesmerize the nation and take power -- he spoke in a way that made people think he'd restore their pride and prosperity.

The story itself is fairly basic. I liked how Fallada wrapped the...more

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Aug 22, 2010 Dana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hans Fallada must have been a lover, because he hits every detail. The babytalk, the little spats and the guilt that follows, the waffling from boundless optimism to despondency over the course of the day, the overwhelming sense of well-being and accomplishment two people get from making dinner or the budget together - or from forgiving each other (the story of the dressing table!).

Fallada wants to defend the lovers' right to their naivete, to their apolitical existence - to defend the "little...more

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Oct 14, 2010 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Today we are in a recession. Parents of my students won't let them come to homework club because it means wasting gas on two trips to school. For Hans and Bunny a recession means much worse. Let us add to it by the fact Bunny is pregnant, and Hans has difficulty staying employed in various men's shops, they have no family to help them, and they live in Berlin in 1932. Every night there is potatoes for dinner and surprising expenses like the baby. As a counterbalance to all this grimness Hans and...more

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Feb 09, 2012 Linda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Much as John Steinbeck turned the spotlight on Americans pounded into the ground by crushing depression-era poverty, so does Hans Fallada’s Little Man, What Now? paint portraits of Germans who were also effected by the Great Depression. Unemployment, failing businesses, bankruptcy, poverty and homelessness plagued the nation in 1932, the year the novel was published in Berlin.

Fallada turns his pen toward the common man faced with untenable circumstances. We watch painfully as young Johannes Pinn...more
Much as John Steinbeck turned the spotlight on Americans pounded into the ground by crushing depression-era poverty, so does Hans Fallada’s Little Man, What Now? paint portraits of Germans who were also effected by the Great Depression. Unemployment, failing businesses, bankruptcy, poverty and homelessness plagued the nation in 1932, the year the novel was published in Berlin.

Fallada turns his pen toward the common man faced with untenable circumstances. We watch painfully as young Johannes Pinneberg strives to provide for his new bride Lammchen (pet name meaning little lamb) and their infant, The Shrimp. Pinneberg is a conscientious, proud, and slightly touchy young fellow who is driven to succeed honestly in life, contrary to his upbringing by a stingy, shady, and domineering mother. As good and honest as he is, Pinneberg’s insecurity bubbles up into rash and strident behavior, undermining his attempts to establish himself as a capable provider. No matter how hard he tries to follow the right path and to succeed in his sales job, he is thwarted at every turn by a system that is inherently rigged.

The other characters in the novel are less fully developed but no less fascinating for their quirkiness and unexpected kindnesses or cruelties. Lammchen’s loyalty is almost too good to be true. She repeatedly bolsters her little man’s ego while providing the underlying brains and gumption to keep a roof over their heads and food in the cupboard.

Politics and world affairs are a nearly invisible backdrop in the book. The characters are average folks, unengaged with the larger world events that are swirling around them. They subliminally understand that they are pawns in a larger game. The only solutions available to them are to blame and steal from each other.

Today, any American reader who is at all familiar with German history can’t help but shudder at the all too familiar effect of political squabbling and governmental ineffectiveness on the “little man.”

This edition of the book includeds a valuable afterword by Phillip Brady.
(less)

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Feb 02, 2012 Sheri rated it 4 of 5 stars

Set during the lead up to Nazism in Germany in the 1930s, this novel focuses on the "little man," an ordinary guy & his wife, and how they struggle to get by. Both Johannes, a/k/a Sonny (his wife's nickname for him) and Mia (a/k/a Lambchen) are characters you care deeply about, and whose efforts simply to get by, are both heartrending and at times comical. Fallada's descriptions of their interactions are truly the best "newlywed" experiences I've ever read. Hitler makes no appearance in this...more

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Mar 03, 2013 Elisa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Avrete sperimentato tutti la piccolezza. Quella condizione dell'essere che ti prende e ti trasferisce direttamente in un film che mai sarà (o forse sarà, oppure ne troverete qualche scena qua e là, se saprete cercare bene), del tuo occhio fa una soggettiva e dell'oggetto del tuo sguardo un gigante. Inquadratura dal basso verso l'alto, luce che si dirama in mille piccoli raggi, la cui fonte è nascosta dall'enormità del tuo interlocutore. Tu, un minuscolo microbo, lui, un sacro totem. Voce roboant...more Avrete sperimentato tutti la piccolezza. Quella condizione dell'essere che ti prende e ti trasferisce direttamente in un film che mai sarà (o forse sarà, oppure ne troverete qualche scena qua e là, se saprete cercare bene), del tuo occhio fa una soggettiva e dell'oggetto del tuo sguardo un gigante. Inquadratura dal basso verso l'alto, luce che si dirama in mille piccoli raggi, la cui fonte è nascosta dall'enormità del tuo interlocutore. Tu, un minuscolo microbo, lui, un sacro totem. Voce roboante che manco nei film in cui Dio parlava dai cespugli in fiamme. Tu che cerchi di rispondere e sei solo un desolante cumulo di punti di sospensione.
Se non l'avete sperimentato, mentite.

Tendiamo sempre a negare di esser piccoli. Nasciamo piccoli, cresciamo piccoli e moriamo piccoli, eppure la maggior parte della gente è tesa in una celebrazione continua di se stessa. Oppure, comoda alternativa, si mette a stender panegirici su persone vicine e conoscenti, che è un modo come un altro per ritornare al via e darsi una bella pacca sulla spalla, come per dire: eh, se son così fichi loro, io devo essere proprio un bel tipo. (Io parlo per me, se voi siete persone migliori, vi invidio.)
Chissà perché lo facciamo. Forse ci sembra di trovare un senso alla nostra esistenza, finché ancora abbiamo il tempo di cercarcelo addosso.
Ecco che, però, con gli esterni la questione non vale più. Prendiamo uno sconosciuto, un chi-lo-conosce, uno di quelli che magari vediamo ogni giorno e ci è totalmente indifferente (e lui a noi). Uno in fila davanti a noi. Chi se ne frega di quello che fa, dei successi che raggranella, delle paure che lo attanagliano? Al massimo gli guardiamo le scarpe, al massimo gliele invidiamo. Se non ci piacciono, torniamo nuovamente al "via!" del panegirico: meno male che io ho buon gusto, mica mi concio così. Poi, quando sorprendiamo un commento sarcastico sul nostro abbigliamento, ci girano come le pale di un elicottero e d'un tratto la storia del via! ci sembra mostruosa, ingiusta, disumana (sì, si tende sempre un po' alla commiserazione, per ritrovare la strada per il via!).

Ecco, queste sono cose che tutti fanno e che tutti si auto-condonano. Ragion per cui, posso dire con certezza che Fallada in questo romanzo si comporta proprio da virtuoso farabutto.

Prima di tutto, compone un inno alla piccolezza. Per raccontare la sua Germania di Weimar, scombussolata dalla crisi economica e politica, sceglie di legarci a una giovane coppia di sposini che cercano di costruirsi una vita dignitosa. Ci dà un occhio per vedere con Lammchen, uno per vedere con Pinneberg, e ciaf!, uno sculaccione per partire, circolare. Fa la figura di quello che vuole fare lo spaccone, il sensibile che mostra agli altri ciò che non vogliono vedere, la lacrima del vicino che piange mentre noi fingiamo di studiare il moto dell'orologio appeso al muro. Nella vita reale uno così dopo un po' dà noia. Sei tentato pure di scocciarti, non mi vorrà mica far seguire questi due per farmi impietosire, per quello basta la televisione italiana. E invece, proprio mentre lo stai pensando, quel virtuoso di Fallada fa il farabutto, e dopo averti fatto vedere Pinneberg disperato ti mostra un Pinneberg gonfio di contraddizioni. Quelle sono le contraddizioni che tutti si condonano, o che magari non vedono, ma che hanno delle conseguenze sul piano politico, e sappiamo tutti come è andata a finire con la Germania di Weimar. Ma Pinneberg non le vede, Pinneberg è come te quando Fallada non c'è, tu ora per fortuna puoi vedere.
Poi c'è l'altro fatto, il peggiore della piccolezza, e cioè il dramma della consapevolezza: tu per gli altri sei niente. Sei uno tra altri milioni di milioni, il fatto che tu possa vivere solo dentro te stesso ti dà certo l'illusione di essere sempre il protagonista, ma con rammarico devi prendere atto del fatto di non esserlo (anche se magari spesso ci provi lo stesso, tanto per sentire com'è). E pensa che crudeltà, nel mondo esisti un po' di più se hai più denaro. Anche se è uno stratagemma molto fragile per esistere, in tempi di crisi.

Però, ecco, Fallada non è solo un virtuoso, spaccone, farabutto. È un farabutto gentiluomo, perché se ti lasciasse così, o meglio, se avesse lasciato così i suoi contemporanei con la testa immersa quasi del tutto nella crisi, sarebbe stato linciato per la strada. Tra la fiumana di gente che sgomita e cerca di pestarsi i piedi, prende due persone e le mette insieme. Poi altre due, o magari tre, a volte quattro, e forma tanti piccoli atomi, fatti di nulla, comuni, invisibili ai più. E fa una cosa semplicissima ma in un certo senso rivoluzionaria: lascia che abbiano qualcuno da cui tornare. Lascia che tornare significhi essere qualcuno, per qualcuno, in qualche posto. I più fortunati, poi, avranno persino qualcuno a cui raccontarsi.

Farabutto gentiluomo. Ci ha messo in braccio Lammchen e Pinneberg per farci sentire meglio quanto pesiamo.(less)

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Nov 11, 2009 Erik Simon rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What was fascinating about this book is that it was published in 1932, just before the rise of the Nazis, so throughout the story there are little hints of the nascent fascists. Naziism is around, some characters happen to be members, but life is going on, and Naziism isn't central. It's remarkable to read a fictive account of life in 1932 Germany in which the ending of how it all turns out isn't yet known. But the fascination stops there. The story was, for me, pretty dull and pretty slow going...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Nico rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics

I love this book as it reflects so many aspects of my grandparents`life who lived in 30s Berlin, just as "Lämmchen" and "Junge". Like these two characters my grandparents were very young when they were married and had to overcome the same hurdles as Fallada`s characters who are - as always - depicted in a lovable and detailed way.
For those who are interested in the life of the small men in Nazi-Germany Fallada is a terrific author. He describes the everyday life of the lower and middle classes a...more

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Jun 11, 2010 Luise rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This probably lost some of the Berlin "flavour" in translation, but that's unavoidable. Gives you a very good glimpse of life at the bottom of the totem pole in depression-era Berlin. Was wildly popular at the time (serialized in German newspapers when it first came out in 1937), so obviously hit a nerve. Fallada is one of those authors who can brilliantly capture the essence of contemporary life without having the hindsight of history (also in his "Every man dies alone", finally translated into...more

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Dec 13, 2011 tinne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Het boek leest heel vlot; het is vertaald op zo'n manier dat de hedendaagse lezer de originele tekst en stijl duidelijk beleeft zonder dat er aan vlotheid of leesbaarheid is ingeboet. De thematiek is - helaas- nog altijd voorpaginanieuws: de gevolgen van een economische recessie voor 'de kleine man'. Die kleine man is in feite de 'middenklasse' die vandaag volgens de kranten dreigt te verarmen.

Het hoofdpersonage Pinneberg is een jonge 'employe', d.i. een voorloper van de bediende. Hij hoort dus...more

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Nov 29, 2010 Perry rated it 3 of 5 stars

I got this from my friend Roy who is really into the Smiths, and I think Morrissey references its title in a song or two. I didn't really get around to reading this for about a year or so.

Little Man What Now is about a young couple in weimar Germany who are about to have a baby. And basically the novel is just about them struggling to find housing, employment, etc, and also about the people they meet.

When I started reading I thought nazism was going to play into the novel more and I'm glad it...more

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Mar 09, 2010 Illa P rated it 5 of 5 stars

Малкият човек в години на преход.
Романът е публикуван през 1932 г., в навечерието на идването на Хитлер на власт, когато познатите се питат един друг: "Ти комунист ли си или наци?", а внушението на творбата е: "всичките са от един дол дренки, всеки се опитва да оцелее". Вълчи времена. През 1937 г. Ханс Фалада отново се връща към темата за съдбата на обикновения човек в години на хаос. "Вълк сред вълци" разказва за живота при Ваймарската република. Гьобелс оценява романа много високо. След войнат...more

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May 29, 2010 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This "darkly enchanting" novel is definitely dark though not so enchanting. I would have preferred the translator to leave the protagonist's nickname as Junge rather than Sonny, which I found distracting along with the Shrimp for the child. Nonetheless, the story does seem to capture the sense of foreboding in German society during the Depression and is well-worth reading for anyone who wants a microcosmic view of this time period before Hitler's takeover.

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Sep 03, 2012 Sam Reaves rated it 4 of 5 stars

The little-known Hans Fallada has come into fashion with the re-issue of his novels in English translations by Melville House. Fallada wrote about life in Germany in the first half of the 20th century. This was perhaps his biggest success, a depiction of a young couple struggling with the unemployment and hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic. And you think you've got it bad...

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Apr 05, 2012 Adam rated it 5 of 5 stars

A well written poignant tale about a young couple trying to survive in Germany between the 2 world war, but before the accession of Hitler as Chancellor.

Each episode brings the couple close to disaster, but things usually end up better than expected.

The book provides an interesting insight into what it must have been like trying to survive in a dramatically failing economy.

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Apr 20, 2010 Joan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Although written in 1939, this book remains timely.
The story of a young couple in Germany trying to come to terms with the poverty in their lives....One gains a greater understanding of the Weimar Republic-----the impoverishment of lives....spiritually and financially.
Understanding the conditions of the times, makes it easier to comprehend the Nazis and Hitlers rise to power.

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Sep 03, 2011 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fallada draws a portrait of a young couple from the lost generation of the Weimar years that skirts the edges of sentimentality without ever becoming saccharine. Instead, each character is doing his or her best to live a full life in the context of a doomed society. Since History makes no announcements about the future, we gladly follow the newlyweds into the abyss.

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Aug 09, 2011 Duncan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: german

This is the second Hans Fallada book that I have read, the other was Alone in Berlin. I enjoyed the pace of the story and the characters. They lived their life in Germany of 1932, a poor family who escaped only just from the twin attractions of the Communist and the Nazi political parties. This was before the Nazis came to power.

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Jul 30, 2011 CVV added it · review of another edition

"Un instant, je vous prie, balbutie-t-il. Je voudrais quand même ... le patron ..."

Il disparaît et Pinneberg le suit du regard avec désolation et mépris. Pourquoi est-ce que je suis comme ça ? pense-t-il. J'aurais dû venir avec Bichette, pense-t-il. Bichette n'est jamais comme ça, pense-t-il. Pourquoi Bichette n'est jamais comme ça ? se demande-t-il. Ce n'est pas non plus facile pour elle."

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Aug 03, 2009 Adrian added it

Excellent. The story of Bunny and Johannes Pinneberg in 1930s Germany brings alive the tyranny of poverty, joblessness and bossism. Two peoples' lives bouncing around like a cork on the ocean. One step forward but always followed by two back. Comparable to Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. Stormed through most of it one day. I want to thank David Bales for bringing it to my attention.

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Aug 23, 2010 Tara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked this book so much, that now I can't get into anything else. Every book I try to start seems lame and annoys me. Little Man is so devastating and heavy, but sparkly and funny and sweet even at times.
"Lammbkin" is a wonderful, strong, female character, which is really a hard thing to come by.
I want to read more Fallada.

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Jul 29, 2012 Courtney Cobb rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-novels

The perspective of this book is a common one yet it shows the difficulties of a young married couple trying to survive. Taking a look into this couple's struggles also shows how Hitler mesmerized his people and gave them hope. This is very much a book that relates to the economic hardships of today.

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Jul 12, 2011 Edward rated it 3 of 5 stars

Good, but not nearly as good as Every Man Dies alone, Little Man, What Now? is a seemingly accurate portrayal of Weimar Germany during the Great Depression. It resonates now, not because we have a 40%+ unemployment rate, but a similar sort of hopelessness seems to loom overhead blue/white collar workers these days. It's a little slow, but real life is that way. I appreciated the fact that he was able to write a book about losing basically everything, but portray the characters as still having ho...more

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Jan 29, 2011 Cooper Renner rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another masterful work. The focus is "small", the life of a young couple struggling to survive in Germany just before the Nazis take over, when unemployment was through the roof and wages were low as a consequence. The valor of "ordinary life" in the face of insurmountable odds. And maybe not many years away from us...

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Apr 24, 2013 James Coon rated it 4 of 5 stars

An excellent tales of a young couple during the Great Depression in Germany who are trying to start a life for themselves amid great economic hardships. This story should appeal to contemporary Americans who have experienced the Great Recession.

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About Hans Fallada

Hans Fallada (21 July 1893 - 5 February 1947), born Rudolf Wilhelm Adolf Ditzen in Greifswald, was one of the most famous German writers of the 20th century. His novel, Little Man, What Now? is generally considered his most famous work and is a classic of German literature. Fallada's pseudoynm derives from a combination of characters found in the Grimm fairy tales: The protagonist of Lucky Hans an...more Hans Fallada (21 July 1893 - 5 February 1947), born Rudolf Wilhelm Adolf Ditzen in Greifswald, was one of the most famous German writers of the 20th century. His novel, Little Man, What Now? is generally considered his most famous work and is a classic of German literature. Fallada's pseudoynm derives from a combination of characters found in the Grimm fairy tales: The protagonist of Lucky Hans and a horse named Falada in The Goose Girl.
He was the child of a magistrate on his way to becoming a supreme court judge and a mother from a middle-class background, both of whom shared an enthusiasm for music and to a lesser extent, literature. Jenny Williams notes in her biography, More Lives than One that Fallada's father would often read aloud to his children works authors including Shakespeare and Schiller (Williams, 5).

In 1899 at the age of 6, Fallada's father relocated the family to Berlin following the first of several promotions he would receive. Fallada had a very difficult time upon first entering school in 1901. As a result, he immersed himself in books, eschewing literature more in line with his age for authors including Flaubert, Dostoevsky, and Dickens. In 1909 the family again relocated to Leipzig following his father's appointment to the Imperial Supreme Court.

A rather severe road accident in 1909 (he was run over by a horse-drawn cart, then kicked in the face by the horse) and the contraction of typhoid in 1910 seem to mark a turning point in Fallada's life and the end of his relatively care-free youth. His adolescent years were characterized by increasing isolation and self-doubt, compounded by the lingering effects of these health ailments. There is, as well, that his life-long drug problems were born of the pain-killing medications he was taking as the result of his injuries. These issues manifested themselves in multiple suicide attempts. In 1911 he made a pact with his close friend, Hanns Dietrich, to stage a duel to mask their suicides, feeling that the duel would be seen as more honorable. Because of both boys' inexperience with weapons, it was a bungled affair. Dietrich missed Fallada, but Fallada did not miss Dietrich, killing him. Fallada was so distraught that he picked up Dietrich's gun and shot himself in the chest, but miraculously survived. Nonetheless, the death of his friend ensured his status as an outcast from society. Although he was found innocent of murder by way of insanity, from this point on he would serve multiple stints in mental institutions. At one of these institutions, he was assigned to work in a farmyard, thus beginning his lifelong affinity for farm culture.

While in a sanatorium Fallada took to translation and poetry, albeit unsuccessfully, before finally breaking ground as a novelist in 1920 with the publication of his first book Young Goedeschal. During this period he also struggled with morphine addiction, and the death of his younger brother in the first World War.

In the wake of the war, Fallada worked several farmhand and other agricultural jobs in order to support himself and finance his growing drug addictions. While before the war Fallada relied on his father for financial support while writing, after the German defeat he was no longer able, nor willing, to depend on his father's assistance. Shortly after the publication of Anton and Gerda Fallada reported to prison in Greiswald to serve a 6-month sentence for stealing grain from his employer and selling it to support his drug habit. Less than 3 years later in 1926 Fallada again found himself imprisoned as a result of a drug and alcohol-fueled string of thefts from employers. In February 1928 he finally emerged free of addiction.

Fallada married Suse Issel in 1929 and maintained a string of respectable jobs in journalism, working for newspapers and eventually for the publisher of his novels, Rowahlt. It is around this time that his novels became noticeably political and started to comment on the social and (less)

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