Jäger des Spotts. Geschichten aus dieser Zeit.

by Siegfried Lenz

So vielfältig die Themen dieser dreizehn Erzählungen sind, so bilden sie doch eine selbstverständliche Einheit. Ob Siegfried Lenz den einsamen Kampf eines vom Glück verlassenen Jägers gegen ein Rudel wütender Moschusochsen schildert oder das zwiespältige Verhalten eines emporge- kommenen Geschäftsmanns beschreibt, der seine Kinder abgöttisch liebt, sich aber seines einfachen Vaters schämt, ob der Autor den Schauplatz seiner Geschichten in die afrikanische Steppe, ins Wattenmeer, in die Büroräume einer Fabrik, auf den Sportplatz oder in das Atelier eines Werbephotographen verlegt, stets gelingt es ihm, das Gleichnishafte der Situation deutlich zu machen.

Genres: German Literature

135 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Siegfried Lenz (1926 - 2014) was a German author who wrote twelve novels and produced several collections of short stories, essays, and plays for radio and the theatre. He was awarded the Goethe Prize in Frankfurt-am-Main on the 250th Anniversary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's birth. Lenz and his wife, Liselotte, also exchanged over 100 letters with Paul Celan and his wife, Gisèle Lestrange between 1952 and 1961.

Lenz was the son of a customs officer in Lyck (Elk), East Prussia. After his graduation exam in 1943, he was drafted into the navy. According to documents released in June 2007, he may have joined the Nazi party on the 12th of July 1943. Shortly before the end of World War II, he defected to Denmark, but became a prisoner of war in Schleswig-Holstein.

After his release, he attended the University of Hamburg, where he studied philosophy, English, and Literary history. His studies were cut off early, however, as he became an intern for the daily paper Die Welt, and served as its editor from 1950 to 1951. It was there he met his future wife, Liselotte (d. February 5, 2006). They were married in 1949.

Since 1951, Lenz worked as a freelance writer in Hamburg and was a member of the literature forum "Group 47." Together with Günter Grass, he became engaged with the Social Democratic Party and aided the Ostpolitik of Willy Brandt. A champion of the movement, he was invited in 1970 to the signing of the German-Polish Treaty.

Since 2003, Lenz was a visiting professor at the Düsseldorf Heinrich Heine University and a member of the organization for German orthography and proper speech.

Reviews

[Philipp Sorge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Siegfried Lenz sagte: „Ich brauche Geschichten, um die Welt zu verstehen.“

Fast vergessen, wie sehr ich ihn und seine Geschichten mag. Bleibt auf seine Weise unübertroffen.

[Isabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meine Lieblinge “Lukas, sanftmütiger Knecht“, “Das Wrack“, “Ein Haus aus lauter Liebe“ und “Die Flut ist pünktlich“

[Evalitera · Rating 5 out of 5]

In der Berufsschule gelesen und es hat mich gerade die Titelgeschichte emotional erfasst, wie selten eine Erzählung. Mein Dank gilt der besten Deutschlehrerin die ich hatte.