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151st out of 385 books
—
638 voters
The Flounder
by
Günter Grass
It all begins in the Stone Age, when a talking fish is caught by a fisherman at the very spot where millennia later Grass's home town, Danzig, will arise. Like the fish, the fisherman is immortal, and down through the ages they move together. As Grass blends his ingredients into a powerful brew, he shows himself at the peak of his linguistic inventiveness. Translated by Ra...more
Paperback, 560 pages
Published
May 5th 1989
by Mariner Books
(first published 1977)
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Gunter Grass, The Flounder (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977)
I just couldn't get through it. I can't really put my finger on why, but there it is. The Flounder contains all the things I revere about Grass-- a strong sense of history, scurrlious sense of humor, strong characters put into wonderfully unrealistic situations. But this novel, Grass' weightiest (literally), never seems to come together in all the little ways that made similarly large tomes like The Tin Drum and Dog Years such wonderful...more
I just couldn't get through it. I can't really put my finger on why, but there it is. The Flounder contains all the things I revere about Grass-- a strong sense of history, scurrlious sense of humor, strong characters put into wonderfully unrealistic situations. But this novel, Grass' weightiest (literally), never seems to come together in all the little ways that made similarly large tomes like The Tin Drum and Dog Years such wonderful...more
this book is kicking my ass ... a herculean effort required to finish it. there are, however, brilliant passages peppered in the dense stew that I really really love. Whenever I get to one, it's a giant relief.
So ask yourself, do you like books that offer occasional relief? Do you like interminable slogs through someone's intellectual workouts? Do you like falling asleep on the train and missing your stop?
So ask yourself, do you like books that offer occasional relief? Do you like interminable slogs through someone's intellectual workouts? Do you like falling asleep on the train and missing your stop?
This book is a fantastic, convoluted, dark and intensely strange 500 page fairy tale. The story perpetually switches between time periods, from early neolithic to present, and between the female protagonists of each time- but once you get the hang of all of the women and the men (who are in fact one man conscious of all of his historical reincarnations), it is surprisingly easy to read and stay in the flow of the current narrators past and present ramblings and references. Essentially this histo...more
My favorite book not named "Brothers Karamazov". Unbelievably rich and detailed hisotries of numerous personal relationships along the path of German historical growth intertwined with the 'true' story of how the Flounder, caught by an itinerant fisherman, changed history. Before his capture men were happily subservient and subdued in a matriarchal society; afterwards, not so much! When the Flounder allows himself to be caught a second time, this time by a woman, he's put on trial for his past t...more
Not Exactly Sashimi Quality
Gunter Grass, I love you, but The Flounder just isn't a sashimi quality piece of fish. It's really more something out of the frozen food section.
The Tin Drum, the author's first book, remains one of the most white hot brilliant novels written in the last 100 years. It's the kind of book that in every sentence shows the desperate need the author had to tell his tale.
By contrast, The Flounder is a tepid excercise that expresses no such fiery need. Sure, there are good id...more
Gunter Grass, I love you, but The Flounder just isn't a sashimi quality piece of fish. It's really more something out of the frozen food section.
The Tin Drum, the author's first book, remains one of the most white hot brilliant novels written in the last 100 years. It's the kind of book that in every sentence shows the desperate need the author had to tell his tale.
By contrast, The Flounder is a tepid excercise that expresses no such fiery need. Sure, there are good id...more
Very freeform magic realism, about men, women, food, pregnancy, and social politics set across every time period in northern Europe (Poland, Germany, Lithuania?). Interspersed with poems that I read half the time, but very enjoyable salad-y personal history mash-up with historic figures of the Danzig?/Gdansk? and European regions. And all framed within the Grimm bros tale of the Fisherman and His Wife.
after receiving the most personalized recommmendation for this book ever, i find it strange to say this, but it's not really a book i'd recommend to others, just because it's so... eclectic? that said, it's fantastic and exactly the kinda book you love to run into other readers of, cuz it's great for discussions. so, read it. but that isn't a recommendation-- you might hate it.
The flounder is a fish that has been talking since the neolithic age. He advises man how to break from the original matriarchy, and become dominant over woman. The novel concerns the differences between the sexes, cooking, and history. The narrator has been around since the neolithic German days in various incarnations. Many of the women in the story are also timeless. The book is written to be funny, but the way it skips between times and characters was confusing. I almost finished it.
To be continued, the deeper in I get. Haven't encountered such culinary indulgence since Rabelais, such brazen jocularity since Diderot, and such full-stomached appetite for life since Grimmelshausen. Grass is the potato of literature: earthy, savory, and irreplaceable.
I should write something about this book being profound but it was really hard to continue, page after page. Found myself falling asleep before finishing a paragraph. Eventually I had to stop reading it. Surely something was lost in the translation.
Great read, especially about food. Grass' writing is quite disturbing, at times almost macabre, but his sweeping dark histories of 20th century Northern Europe are essential to understand what happened there during those frightening times.
It's been many years since I read it, but I think I owe my fascination with food history (or I guess I should say the history of cooking) to having been exposed at such a young age to Gunter Grass' The Flounder. I should read it again.
Jan 01, 2009
Vivienne
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Open minded person looking for a long book
Shelves:
nobel-laureate
Made me laugh, pissed me off, confused me, kept me company for many evenings and sometimes I just had to walk away to think about what I had read (or get it out of my head). Definitely reaction provoking.
One of the best books I've ever slogged my way through. The way he picks apart man verses woman, via the diplomacy of a fish... well you have to read it to believe it. History, myth, magic, folklore & a love of all food. Fill your belly.
One of favorite novels ever. I've devoured, with intentional puns, this one twice, the second time in tandem with my friends. This represents the purpose of literature.
Love the verses throughout, esp. "How I See Myself". Also love the historical characters, like August Bebel (isn't it delicious?!?).
Jan 03, 2011
Special K
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommended to Special K by:
Nathaniel Baker
Shelves:
euro-lit
This is the first book I've read that's made me seriously reconsider my policy to never quit a book. I still finished the book, but it was a very tough go. It was really long (spanning all of human history basically), really tedious (detailed descriptions of recipes) and often sexually explicit in a way that seemed to be trying to shock just for the sake of shock itself.
Considering the epic proportions this book attempted, I found myself perpetually waiting to react, to be intrigued, or even to...more
Considering the epic proportions this book attempted, I found myself perpetually waiting to react, to be intrigued, or even to...more
Well. Uh. This is definitely something.
An odd book, to put it mildly. Grass has his trademark humor and historical wisdom here. But the whole concept of the novel is something baffling - a talking fish gives advice to the reincarnations of a man and his cook-wife in the areas near Danzig, and the fish is accused by a gang of radical feminists that he has altered the course of history by instituting the patriarchy. There's also a lot of discussion on food, particularly potatoes.
I have no idea wha...more
An odd book, to put it mildly. Grass has his trademark humor and historical wisdom here. But the whole concept of the novel is something baffling - a talking fish gives advice to the reincarnations of a man and his cook-wife in the areas near Danzig, and the fish is accused by a gang of radical feminists that he has altered the course of history by instituting the patriarchy. There's also a lot of discussion on food, particularly potatoes.
I have no idea wha...more
You say: a profound examination of gender politics deftly woven into a farce of German society, with interesting use of food politics as a metaphor.
I say: an unnecessarily abstruse novel about one man's obsession with potatoes.
I say: an unnecessarily abstruse novel about one man's obsession with potatoes.
I really didn’t enjoy reading this very much. The premise is kind of cool, even if it encompasses so much nuance it isn’t really describable in a sentence, and some of the episodes touched on along the way have compelling arcs, but on the whole it just feels like way too much masturbatory writing. And that’s not even touching on the fact that Grass spends 500+ pages thoroughly investigating the uses and abuses of power in German history only to completely ignore the Third Reich, followed by a bi...more
Although the Tin Drum is more famous, The Flounder is more typical of Grass' sprawling mid-period novels, and still worth a read. Along with The Rat, this is the high-water mark or Grass' writing, but e.g. Local Anaesthetic also worth a punt.
Bizarre to the point of being frustrating. Contains one hilarious moment per one hundred pages. Best read intoxicated.
This book tapped into something deeper (primordial urges?) in a sort of way that left me deeply satisfied.
I love this weird book. One of my all-time favorites. Its images and ideas still haunt me after twenty years.
The only Grass I've read, and I really liked it. A man (representing all men) is on trial for his crimes throughout history by a court of feminists. He is represented by a flounder, who has been present, whispering suggestions in his ear throughout the millennia, basically guiding Man into the predicament in which he finds himself. The conscience of Man is a flat fish. In every age the central male character is coupled with a central female cook. She is represented by a signature dish, which, th...more
I just couldn't get past page 20. I think maybe this wasn't the best first Gunter Grass novel to tackle. From what I could tell, it's a man's meandering evolution. He is obsessed with breasts, has discussions with a flounder, and likes cooks and food. I understand the poetic nature of his writing, but 500+ pages was too much for me. This will be an interesting book group discussion!
Antamastani kolmesta tähdestä huolimatta en suosittele tätä kirjaa kenellekään.
A very strange book....also struggled to get through this one.
The Flounder begins in the Stone Age. When the flounder is caught by a fisherman, he and the fisherman travel together through the ages. Feminism, history, and cooking are all explored. There's a lot of talk about soup, mushrooms, fish, and potatoes, which I liked. But all in all, there doesn't seem much going on, at least not as much as in The Tin Drum or Dog Years.
One of the Brest books I've ever read
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Günter Wilhelm Grass is a Nobel Prize-winning German author and playwright.
He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland). Since 1945, he has lived in West Germany (now Germany), but in his fiction he frequently returns to the Danzig of his childhood.
He is best known for his first novel, The Tin Drum, a key text in European magic realism. His works frequently have a strong left wing,...more
More about Günter Grass...
He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland). Since 1945, he has lived in West Germany (now Germany), but in his fiction he frequently returns to the Danzig of his childhood.
He is best known for his first novel, The Tin Drum, a key text in European magic realism. His works frequently have a strong left wing,...more
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“Eles não podem agir de outra maneira, os senhores da criação. O privilégio da criação lhes é irrenunciável. Nós, mulheres, temos que ser criaturas, sim, e criaturas perfeitas. Sejamos agradecidas aos cavaleiros suecos, principalmente ao fatídico Axel, por terem desequilibrado tão artisticamente as faculdades da menina Agnes. As mulheres levemente desequilibradas se qualificam como musas excelentes.”
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Aug 12, 2010 02:47pm