Pigeons and Moles: Selected Writings of Günter Eich

by Günter Eich

At the end of the Second World War, Gunter Eich was one of the hundreds of thousands of German soldiers taken prisoner. For twelve years the German language had been in the service of the Nazis, the instrument of their propaganda. Many German writers had been killed or driven into exile. Eich was part of a generation that grappled with the challenge of how to renew the language and forge a post-war literature. Pigeons and Moles offers a selection from Eich's bitter and graceful poems, his acclaimed radio plays and the controversial late prose poems.

Genres: Poetry

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Illiterate · Rating 4 out of 5]

The radio plays, and some of the poems, depict a human condition of isolation/loneliness, uncertainty/anxiety, persecution/suffering, and finally death/acceptance.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this collection for the poetry, especially the prose poems Moles, but the radio plays are what stuck with me. They had the power to connect everyday stories with everyday people, while the prose poetry in particular struck me as written for the sole purpose of critical critique and debate among a select few insiders.